Deja Vu
by spanishwon2123
Summary: Basically AU. Max is a senior in high school and she's just come back from a summer trip to California after her family's money problems suddenly disappear. All sounds well until she starts having strange dreams. Enter Manticore, slightly revised.
1. Chapter 1

_**Deja Vu**_

**Disclaimer-I don't own anything you recognize.**

**Summary-Almost completely AU. Max is a senior in high school and the time is present, not future. She's just come back from summer vacation in California after her family's money troubles suddenly disappear. All sounds well until she starts having strange dreams. Enter Manticore (slightly revised).**

**Pairings-These will become clear before too long, especially if you've read my other stuff you'll know the pairings I generally choose. **

**A/N-As a change from my other fics, this will be in first person. I may switch off if I feel like it later, but for now it's just Max's POV.**

Chapter One

I once read somewhere that the noise that people found most grating is the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. While I agree that it's pretty unpleasant, I don't think it's the worst. I'm sure other teenagers my age and maybe even a number of adults would agree with me on this. The most awful, annoying, teeth-clenching noise in the world? Yeah, that would be an alarm clock.

If you've never had this abomination jerk you into a conscious state in the early morning then I sincerely envy you. Yes, I realize the whole point of it is to get people up all the quicker so they won't be late for school, work, or whatever. I just hope whoever created this ingenious thing was driven from his or her home by the sound of their invention multiplied by a zillion, all turned up to the highest possible volume.

Or something.

Alright, so I'm a little bitter right now. You would be too if you just had an awesome summer vacation and were now being physically shoved out of the house by your mother so you wouldn't miss the school bus on the first day back.

"You remembered to pack a lunch, right honey?" my mom asked as she used her whole body to block the doorway. I gave the door one final half-hearted nudge before blowing out a sigh. My upper-body strength sucks.

"Yes, I remembered," I mumbled before heading down the steps. My mom flashed a wide smile and cheerfully waved at me.

"Have a great day! See you at 2:00!" she called. Then she quickly shut the door. If I had better hearing I probably would've picked up the sound of the lock being turned. It's comforting to know that my own mom thinks that I despise going back to school so much that she's designated me a big enough threat to lock me out of my own house.

Not.

But maybe all seventeen year old girls who spent their summer on warm sandy beaches in California and had a short fling with a gorgeously tanned, dark-haired lifeguard named Matt are considered deadly by their parents when they have to come back to Seattle for their senior year at Lakewood Highschool. God knows I'm probably not the only one.

Like a good girl, I looked both ways before crossing Meridian towards the bus stop.

Yeah, you read that right. I'm seventeen, soon-to-be eighteen in a couple weeks and while I do have a perfectly legitimate Washington State Driver's License, my mom has yet to trust me enough to give me a car. Making me one of the very select few seniors of that bogus club.

So yes, I take the big yellow bus to school. Complete with the cranky, mullet-haired 'lady' driver who bites off your head if even one of your toes sticks out in the aisle or you aren't sitting straight, hands folded-Ms. America contestant style.

You can stop laughing now.

What makes this experience actually bearable is the fact that two of my friends, Sketchy and Original Cindy, choose to endure it with me. Sketchy would just as happily ride his bike to school, but he's desperate to make OC rethink her recent proclamation that she prefers the all-girls team and therefore spends every second he can trying to impress her with his 'maleness'.

How he thinks following her around like a lovesick puppy is endearing, I don't get. But like I said to Cindy when she let the world know her personal preferences, I told him, 'whatever floats your boat'.

As for the princess herself, she's got her own little car that her mom gave her. One that can hardly ever be driven thanks to its frequent visits to the shop. So many in fact that we've had a license plate specially made that reads 'PZACRP'. Lovingly, of course.

Since the bus stop is just right across the street from my house, I'm always the first one there. OC is never far behind and usually arrives in some outfit that pushes the limits of the school dress code. Today was apparently no exception as she was wearing a purple spaghetti-strap tank top that just barely met the top of her low-riders. There was an abstract design on the front of her shirt that I couldn't make out.

"Should I be worried when one of the teachers figures out what that is?" I asked by way of greeting after she gave me one of her trademark wide smiles.

"If none of them have seen one before then I just feel sorry for 'em," she replied. I nodded slowly, unsure if I should let my imagination run wild or just change the subject. OC made the decision for me when she suddenly slapped me on the arm. "Where the hell have you been? I haven't seen you since the beginning of summer. All I was able to get out of your few, quick, garbled and might I mention grossly giddy phone calls that you were havin' a 'marvelous' time out in the sunny state of California while your girl was stuck in gloomy Seattle getting fired from babysitting jobs and being stalked by Sketchy! Now you better have a good explanation or I'm gonna open up a can of hair pulling like you wouldn't believe."

She completed this rant with the whole finger snap and funky head wave. It took all my will power to hold back my laughter and meet her gaze with what I hoped was one of pure innocence and apology.

"Nuh uh, don't try pulling that with me," she commented instantly. Rolling my eyes, I opened my mouth to respond when I suddenly felt arms wrap around my middle, my legs were lifted off the ground and I was being spun in a circle.

"Sketchy, Sketchy put me down!" I hollered. He complied and gave me a light punch on the arm, much like the slap OC had delivered.

He looked just like he had at the end of our junior year. Tall and lanky with floppy brown hair that gave him a boyish look. He was wearing his usual loose jeans (thankfully held up by a belt after OC and I had strictly told him to always keep his underwear hidden from our view) and a faded blue shirt that had a weird character who almost resembled Kyle's little brother from _South Park_. The word 'Pie!' was written above it. It was almost as abstract as OC's shirt, but in a very different way.

"It's good to see you, too," I smiled.

"Now hold on. Before we get into any heartfelt reunion I still wanna know about this girl's summer," OC said, not caring that a few of the other people at the bus stop were glancing over and trying to be sneaky about eavesdropping.

"Oh yeah, what _did _you do, Max?" Sketchy asked, gladly wanting to please OC.

Thoughts of a shirtless Matt floated through my mind, but I didn't feel like describing his Greek God perfection around the other people. So I just gave them what I hoped was an enigmatic smile. Apparently it worked since OC gave me another slap on the arm, but it was more playful than indignant. Her brown eyes also had a new glint to them.

"I knew it. My boo got busy with someone. Details please."

Sketchy gave me his usual crooked grin and waggled a finger in my face. "If the rating of this story is over PG-13 you probably shouldn't let Original Cindy's delicate ears ever hear any of it." He illustrated his point by swiftly covering the latter. OC grunted and slapped his hands away.

"Like I'd let _you _be the only one of us to know?" she retorted just as the bus trundled up the street. The squeaking noise of the brakes being applied made me flinch.

I missed Sketchy's response as the movement of the doors swishing open sent a small gust of air at my face. With the air came the mixed smell of gasoline, stale cigarettes, body odor, and old leather. My former feeling of dread came back with a vengeance as the reality of returning to school sunk in.

I shifted my shoulder bag towards my back as I climbed the steps so I wouldn't bash anyone's knees with it as I walked down the aisle.

Our stop was the second to last so the bus was always packed already, and today was no exception. I walked all the way towards the back and sat down next to a guy who had his face covered by the hood of his sweatshirt and appeared to be sleeping with his hands tucked underneath his arms. OC sat across from me next to an Asian girl with bright red and gold highlights in her hair and who was wearing basic jeans and a t-shirt. Sketchy chose a seat behind her with a Caucasian female wearing small-wired glasses and who was dressed in a white polo shirt that looked freshly ironed and simple black pants.

Is our school diverse or what?

Cindy's rear end had barely touched the leather of the seat before she turned her attention back to me and blurted out the same question she'd been asking me all morning. "So what were you doing in California? I know there was some boy involved." I rolled my eyes but couldn't help smiling at her eagerness.

"Anyone ever tell you that you'd make a great criminal interrogator?" I countered, still not desiring to share the experience of my heated summer where plenty of strangers could overhear. Now it was Sketchy and OC's turn to roll their eyes.

"All the time, and don't try to change the subject, Max," they answered in unison. I felt the guy next to me stir so I lowered my voice when I replied.

"I'll tell you guys later when we're alone, okay?" They narrowed their eyes at me as if trying to gauge whether or not I was telling the truth. Apparently deciding to give me the benefit of the doubt, they nodded.

"Alright, then at least tell us what your first semester classes are," Sketchy said, pulling out his own schedule to compare. I grinned.

"That I can do, as it has nothing to do with lifeguards." My comment made both of their eyes widen. I covered my mouth with my hand and feigned embarrassment. "Oops, did that slip out?" Sketchy slowly shook his head as Cindy gave me a swift kick. "Ow! Did you eat something that makes you extra physical today or what?"

"Just the fact that my friend is trying to keep secrets from me."

"No I'm not. I'm just not telling them to you yet."

"Same thing."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-"

"Uh, it's still just the morning of the first day back, there'll be plenty of time for pinching and eye-poking later in the year," Sketchy interrupted, playing peace-keeper. OC and I smiled in silent truce.

"Alright, I've got Individual Sports first period, what do you have?" I asked. OC's eyes widened again, this time in excitement.

"Yes, I've got that too." I smiled while Sketchy scrunched his nose in distaste.

"That's not fair, I've got math then." OC mirrored his pout and patted his head condescendingly.

"Aw, poor baby." He looked delightfully pleased at the attention, which she tactfully ignored. "How 'bout second?" I glanced back down at my schedule and grimaced.

"Ugh...I'd forgotten I had Mr. Declen for English." They winced in sympathy. Samuel Declen was well-known for being one of the worst teachers at Lakewood. He had no logical sense of humor, he smelled of moldy cardboard boxes and cheap cologne, and didn't know the meaning of personal space. Ask him a question and he'll lean towards you, pretending that it was either to hear you better or to show you something about your work, when in actuality he's probably trying to look down your shirt or something.

"Maybe it's not too late to switch out," Sketchy suggested. I nodded absently.

The familiar sight of our high school suddenly appeared outside the windows and the bus pulled to a screeching stop. I hadn't even noticed when the driver had made the last stop, let alone actually gotten us to school.

As I stood up, my shoulder bag jostled the guy next to me. He let out a noise halfway between a yawn and a groan before he lifted his hood away from his face. He glanced up at me and my breath caught in my throat. His skin was the color of a creamy mocha, which caused his incredibly bright green eyes to really stand out. Especially since they were surrounded by a fringe of long, dark lashes. His short blonde-brown hair looked slightly mussed, I guessed from his hood.

My brain got sort of fuzzy and I felt a tingly sensation go through me, which wasn't exactly pleasant. He stood up, one eyebrow slightly raised at me. If I'd been paying more attention I probably would've noticed that practically everyone except for the few people behind us had gotten off the bus. His full lips curved into a smirk.

"Forget something?" His voice had a sarcastic lilt that for some reason I became very grateful for, snapped me out of whatever weird trance I'd been in. I blinked once and muttered something incoherent before quickly striding down the aisle.

As I stepped onto the hard concrete in front of the school, the cloud that had passed over dispersed and normalcy returned. I gave my head a slight shake and turned to see OC and Sketchy giving me weird looks. I forced myself to smile reassuringly.

"So what do you guys have for second period?"

"Photography. Are you okay?" Sketchy asked bluntly. I restrained myself from looking at my seat mate when I saw him pass by in the corner of my eye and continued to smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Cindy, what do you have?" She stared at me for a few seconds before answering.

"Chemistry."

"Crap, I have that fifth," I replied, looking back at my schedule. She and Sketchy briefly glanced at each other before their faces suddenly creased into identical mischievous smiles. My suspicion radar clicked on. "What?"

"We're alone, Ms. Guevara. So kindly tell us what the hell you did on your vacation. Filthy details included. I want to know everything," OC demanded. Sketchy cringed.

"_I _personally wouldn't feel offended if you left certain things out," he sounded horrified. OC ignored him and continued to look at me expectantly. I glanced around, trying to find an excuse not to tell them yet. But all I saw were small groups of people forming. Old friends getting back together to tell their own stories.

"Alright," I sighed, then spoke in a rush. "So we went to California and my mom let me have my own hotel room. The beaches were a frequent place for me to go. Something about the glistening blue-green water, hot silky sand, gentle flowing breeze..."

"And scoping out hot lifeguards," Cindy commented knowingly. I laughed out loud.

"Yeah, so that was a big part, too. His name was Matt. He was gorgeous, tan, dark-haired, and a fabulous kisser. Overall, he helped make that summer vacation the best ever. So if I seem at all bitter today about being back, it is completely not my fault." They smiled in friendly understanding.

"So I take it your family managed to get themselves out of that financial pit you guys were in for so long?" Sketchy asked. I nodded distractedly and looked down at my watch. We had about 15 minutes before classes actually started. The buses always got here early.

"Yep. I'm gonna go see about getting my schedule switched around. I'm not very enthusiastic about the idea of having a whole semester of Declen breathing down my neck."

"Who would be?" Cindy replied as I headed towards the office. "Good luck! The lines are probably insanely long!" I waved good-naturedly back at her and Sketchy.

For the past few years my mom had been having a lot of trouble bringing home the bacon, so to speak. Budgets were tight and eventually so were my clothes since I'm still a growing girl. I couldn't have those special luxuries like going to the movies or buying food when I needed to. The longer it went on, the more I expected us to need welfare. But we never did since at the very end of the school year, my mom suddenly claimed everything was fine. Something happened at work and she got a raise.

I never really realized how strange it seemed until now, which is an act of idiocy and gullibility on my part. I didn't care how we had gotten the money since the next words out of my mom's mouth were 'trip to California' and I'd get my own hotel room. Then we'd also be able to move into a new house when we got back.

We left for the trip only a few days after school ended and as soon as we got back, we were too busy moving into the new house, which was why I didn't see my friends at all over the summer.

And this house was _pretty_. Two stories, four bedrooms total (we only use two and have yet to figure out what to do with the others) with their own bathrooms, and a huge backyard. Way better than the cramped apartment we'd been living in for so long. I doubt the source of our newfound wealth is anything illegal, like my mother had to kill someone or rob a bank. I'm sure she just stepped up her work ethic.

My thoughts started to go to dark places as I walked to the office so I concentrated on my schedule, trying to figure out if I wanted any other classes beside second period English switched. I wished I had at least asked Sketchy and OC about the rest of their classes to get a better idea of what I might want.

I had my head down so I didn't notice the girl until I'd already crashed into her. She wasn't that much smaller than me, but she must've been preoccupied too since she fell over like a piece of paper. I winced and quickly helped her up.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," I blurted as I picked up a few papers that had flown from her hands. Most of the girl's long brown hair covered her face but the portions that I could see were a deep magenta from embarrassment, which made me feel like a complete dolt. Especially when I noticed one of the papers was a map of the school. She was either a freshman or new.

"It's, um, okay," the girl said hurriedly as she stuffed some of the papers into her backpack. Quite a lot of people had stopped what they were doing to look at us, like it was the most interesting thing they'd see all day. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sure your idea of a perfect welcoming isn't to get run over by someone," I said and was relieved to see a smile form on her face. She had finished organizing her papers again. "Sorry again and good luck with the rest of your day, though not every person is as clumsy as me." Her smile widened.

"Thanks." I nodded and moved around her towards the office. Cautiously. I didn't want to risk another collision before the day ended.

I reached the counselor's office and immediately groaned in exasperation. Cindy had been right. The line was _insanely _long. A few people walked in behind me and I quickly grabbed a spot. I didn't want to wait longer than needed.

After about five minutes the line inched forward and I realized I could at least call OC and Sketchy to ask them about the schedules. I glanced at the clock to make sure school hadn't officially started yet and rummaged in my bag for my cell phone.

OC answered after the fifth ring.

"Max? Why are you calling me? Class starts in less than three minutes." I looked at the clock again. Guess it was a little slow.

"Really? Huh. What are your classes third to sixth period?" She didn't answer for a few beats and I figured she'd hung up on me.

"Math Analysis with Jacobs, fourth is free, Painting and Drawing with Teyr, and English with Ronald. The teacher's glaring at me. We're not supposed to use cell phones in the locker room, I gotta go. Bye."

The bell rang just after I hung up so I knew I wouldn't be able to call Sketchy. Though being the kind of person he is, he'd answer it even in the middle of a test.

The line moved forward again as I looked down at my schedule. I had Metals where she had Math, World Studies were she had a free period, Chemistry where she had Painting and Drawing, and Math where she had English. If I switched into her English class then Math would be my second period. I wasn't sure which teachers had it then, so I'd have to check with the counselor. I hoped Sketchy had at least one of the classes with me, but I'd have to wait to find out.

I guess I zoned out as the line continued to inch forward since a bell rang, announcing the end of first period. Oops.

Oh well, I'd just get a note from my counselor to give to the PE instructor when I had the class next.

The line began to move more steadily. Probably people were either getting tired of waiting or didn't want to miss another class. Even though it's only the first day of school and all you do is get paperwork about the rules of the class, which are always the same every year, a few things for your parents to sign, and probably a stupid 'Get to Know You' game that teachers seem to be unhealthily obsessed with. Like anyone is going to remember by the end of the semester that you have a couple of uncles and like to shop. The questions are always too generic.

Another bell announced the beginning of second period and _finally_ it was my turn.

* * *

By the time I was finished straightening things out with my counselor, I only had about fifteen minutes left of second period.

My new Math teacher was Sandrik. Apparently she'd been teaching at Lakewood for about forty years and still dressed as if it were her first day. Meaning she wore a pale purple colored top that looked like a cross between a poncho and a tunic and a flowing sky-blue skirt that reached her ankles, a skirt that I had actually seen on a teenage girl just last week. On her feet were simple black flip flops.

She looked like she'd just been spit out of a twirling time machine from the 60s.

I had no idea what my expression looked like when I walked into the classroom and saw her, but it must've pretty much mirrored what I was thinking since a few giggles could be heard as I handed her the note from my counselor.

She glanced down at it and then gave me an unbelievably wide smile as she grabbed my hand and gave it a very firm shake for someone who was supposedly about 60 years old. Her skin was wrinkled so I expected her hand to feel leathery, but it was surprisingly soft.

Feeling just a little more than a tad creeped out, I politely dislodged my hand from her grip and smiled nervously.

"Lovely to have you here, Ms. Guevara," her voice didn't even seem to fit her. It was smooth and strong. Like her handshake. "Since it's just the first day we didn't go over anything math-related, so you're in luck." She actually winked at me. "I haven't made a seating chart either so sit wherever you feel guided to."

"Uh, thanks," I replied before quickly scanning the room. The walls were covered with brightly colored pieces of paper and posters that gave simple math tips, the kind that no one really paid attention to. For example, the dragged out way to solve any problem (read it twice, brainstorm ideas, blah blah woof woof). Common sense just tells us what to do, not a picture of creepy smiling bugs.

There was only one huge window that overlooked the courtyard. I could see a few people choosing to skip class sitting on some of the lunch tables. Kind of a stupid thing to do on the first day. If they didn't want to go to class why not just stay home? At least they wouldn't be risking getting detention.

Next to the window was a row of three cupboards positioned over a sink and even more cupboards. I very smartly decided they held math supplies and cleaning products. In the middle of the room were about thirty desks, not all of them occupied. I actually knew a lot of people there but not enough to just plop down next to them and start a conversation like old drinking buddies.

I ended up choosing a seat near the far side of the room in the fourth row next to a poster of a cat doing algebra. I knew from past experience that whoever sat in the very back or front got called on the most, even if they hadn't raised their hand. Something that has and always will bug the crap out of me.

"Max, right?" a girl's voice asked as I settled into my new seat, which meant me getting out my iPod. I looked over at her with my eyebrows raised in question.

The girl looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. She was wearing dark blue capris and a plain white tee. Part of her black hair was pulled back into a half-ponytail and held by a barrette. Around her neck was a silver locket. Her whole appearance screamed Innocence, which unnerved me.

Not that I'm a wild party chick or anything. Far from it actually. But I'm not a goody two shoes either, if this past summer is any indication.

"Yeah?" I replied. The girl smiled, showing perfect white teeth courtesy of a job well-done by an orthodontist.

"I'm Brin," she introduced, probably catching on that I had no idea who she was. "We were in the same Biology class last year." Recognition finally kicked in and I laughed sheepishly.

"Oh right. You sat a few seats away from me in Willick's class. I think we even got paired together for a lab once." Brin's smile widened. "Seen any more frog guts since then?" She laughed.

"No, I've had to steer clear of that. That image is still burned in my brain, I don't really care for another." I nodded in agreement. "How good are you at math?"

"Looking to copy my future homework are ya?" I was joking, but Brin looked comically stricken.

"Of course not," she replied as she quickly shook her head in the negative. I just smirked.

"I was kidding. You wouldn't want to copy my homework anyway. It's not exactly top rate," I explained. Brin nodded in understanding.

"Well the reason I asked is because I'm not that good either and I was wondering if we could help each other." I shrugged just as the bell rang.

"Sure, sounds good to me," I replied as Brin smiled.

"Great. Maybe we'll have more classes together this semester."

"Maybe. See ya later." I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the room to Mrs. Sandrik's departing words, which all meant the same thing but were said in a zillion different languages. I'm not an expert though, so that's just a guess.

After second period we had a 15-minute break. Cindy, Sketchy, and I hadn't actually agreed on a spot to meet this morning so I just headed towards our usual spot from the past three years and hoped they'd be there. If not, I'd just head towards my next class.

I reached the track and brought my hand to my forehead to shade my eyes from the sun as I scanned the area. It didn't take me long to find 'em. They were both waving and calling my name. I rolled my eyes and headed towards them, ignoring the few weird looks that were pointed in my direction.

"How did it go?" Cindy asked, referring to my schedule changes. I grinned.

"Very well," I answered as I brandished the new schedule. "No more Declen. I've got Math with Sandrik instead-who's kinda strange in that hippie-stuck-in-the-times way. So now I have English with you." Her face broke into a wide smile.

Sketchy made a huffing noise and snatched the paper from me. "What period is that? Any classes with yours truly?" I didn't even know what his were so I waited for him to finish scanning it. His face broke into a wide grin that matched Cindy's, causing mine to mirror it without even knowing why. "We've got Chemistry and English together."

I grabbed my schedule back, feigning a look of betrayal. "I mentioned I had Chemistry fifth period earlier, why didn't you say anything?" He rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Maybe because I was just a tad more interested in what your summer was like and I didn't want to give you another reason to hold off telling us what happened."

"But I almost switched that class while I was with the counselor. We almost didn't have it together at all since you didn't tell me in the first place," I lied. He just cocked a single brown eyebrow at me. My face slowly spread into another smile as I shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, it could've happened. You don't know."

"I would have survived," he retorted, his voice deadpan.

"Hey Kendra!" I heard OC call suddenly. I glanced in the direction she was waving in time to see a girl with long platinum-blonde hair wave back. She was wearing a navy blue skirt and a green sweater over a matching halter top.

Kendra Maibaum's our school's walking tabloid. She pays attention to everything that goes on in this place. From the girl's bathroom in the 200s building needing soap to who cheated on who's special someone, Kendra's ready with the info. Whether or not the rumors she helps spread around are actually true is a whole other situation.

She said a few parting words to a guy standing next to her before heading over to us.

I did a double take and realized it was the guy I sat next to on the bus. Before anyone could accuse me of staring, I looked away to greet Kendra.

"Hey guys," she smiled brightly. "Happy to be back at school yet?" Both my friends glanced over at me, but I just returned her smile politely. They murmured their thoughts on the subject before Cindy seemed to recognize the guy from that morning, though I thought I was being pretty clever by not staring at him like I had earlier.

"Max, didn't you sit next to him on the bus?" she asked. I nodded mutely as I quickly averted my eyes. A dreamy expression passed over Kendra's features.

"He's gorgeous, right? He just moved here from somewhere in the Midwest. His name's Alec McDowell. He can speak like a zillion different languages. Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, you name it! Oh and guess what..."

What'd I tell ya?

Kendra continued to carry on about how perfect Mr. McDowell was with Cindy adding a few half-hearted commentary while Sketchy inserted a few of his own thoughts on the subject, none of which I was really paying attention to since my eyes strayed of their own violation.

He was wearing sunglasses so I couldn't officially tell where he was looking, but the same strange feeling passed over me again. The tingly sensation traveled throughout my entire body until it finally hit me like an electric shock.

Somehow, somewhere before I'd met Alec McDowell.

**A/N-Okay, so that's the first chapter. I was going to wait a little longer til I had more chapters ready, but I got bored so I figured I might as well post the first chapter and see what happens. Please let me know what you think. Reviews really help jog my typing ;o)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

And I don't think I'm being insane either. That weird sensation has only happened to me twice in my life now, all in the same day and both times I'd been looking at Alec. Plus I think I've heard people describe deja vu this way in movies. I'm sure that reasoning is enough for other people to keep me out of the looney bin. Of course, I'm not going to let anyone in on this until I completely figure it out.

Metals was my next class so once I recovered and said a hasty goodbye to the others, I had to head all the way across campus.

When I got to the classroom I knew right away that it was going to make me be a hermit. There was absolutely no one that I knew. I hoped very little of the assignments would require partners or I might have to stab myself with my pencil. And I hear that's not very healthy, what with the poisonous lead and all.

Just as I was picturing this, Mr. Alec McDowell walked in. And there were only a few seats left, all of which were very close to where I was sitting. He took the one across from me.

Perfect.

I very carefully avoided eye contact as I pretended to listen to what the teacher was saying. He was not what some would call skinny and his voice boomed like a fog horn.

"Alright, I know most of you aren't exactly thrilled at being here," Mr. Vicks commented, eliciting a few grumbles of agreement from some of the students. "Summer vacation is something you always look forward to every year and it always goes by too fast." More agreement. I found myself thinking he was kind of like Santa Claus with the big voice and white hair and beard...At least until his next comment."Well grow up."

I wasn't the only one to look at him in surprise.

"Everyone's gotta do stuff they don't like. You think I don't like having three months free of whiny little kids like you? I dream about it every night. Now, you all are going to sit quietly for the next 40 minutes and fill out this questionnaire that I've taken at least an hour out of my own time to make for you. And when you're done, you'll continue to keep your mouths shut until the end of class. Is that clear?"

No one could muster up an answer. Vicks just nodded his head as if we had, though, and passed out the paper we were supposed to fill out.

Santa Claus my ass.

I snuck one glance at Alec to see what he thought of all this and was pleased to see he seemed to be having the same thought I was: _Holy crap_.

* * *

When the bell rang forty minutes later, I couldn't have been more relieved. I zipped out of there as fast as I could. I did not want to imagine what it would be like when I had to have it for 100 minutes on Wednesday and Friday.

That's how the schedule at Lakewood High School works. On Mondays we get out at 1:20 because we have all six periods, forty minutes each, the 15-minute break after second, and then lunch after fourth. Tuesdays and Thursdays are when we just have periods two, four, and six, along with a 30 minute period called STAR-three years going here and I still don't know what the hell it stands for-after second period where students have time to catch up on work, get help, whatever, followed by another 15-minute break. Same with Wednesdays and Fridays except then we have periods one, three, and five. On these four days we always get out at 2:20.

Confused yet?

"Hey!" the voice was distinctly male and even though I'd only heard him speak once, at least that I could remember, I knew who it was. I sighed heavily then turned around to face him.

"Yeah?" I asked flatly, very thankful my voice didn't shake when my eyes met his too-green ones. He smirked and held out a notebook. It had my name written across it along with my math room, teacher, and period number. I'd left it in the Metals room. "Oh, thanks."

I paused to stick it in my bag, thinking that he might just leave then. Instead his smirk turned into a sort of lazy smile as he watched me.

"Looking forward to more days with him?" he asked. I stared at him for a couple beats, not sure what he was talking about. "Vicks. Not exactly a happy go lucky kind of guy, huh?"

I smiled slightly. "No. He's more the type to make you worry about what he's really gonna use those welding tools for." Alec nodded in agreement and then we fell into a very awkward silence. I took a deep breath and then before I lost my nerve, asked, "So, I don't think I've seen you around before. What school did you use to go to? Would I have heard of it?" To my surprise, his smile faded slightly as he shrugged nonchalantly.

"I've been around," he answered vaguely. When he didn't give any further information I just nodded uncomfortably.

"Okay then. Gotta bounce...See ya." Then I whirled around and headed towards the 300s building.

I know my questioning was anything but tactful, but being around that guy is practically torture. I've met him before, I know I have, but it's a complete pain in the ass that I can't remember. He's not helping by being all mysterious and avoiding my questions. But if he wants to play it that way, fine. I can be just as annoying.

* * *

My social studies class went by faster than I expected and luckily Alec wasn't in it. Now it was lunch time. Thank God. I hurried to my, Sketchy, and OC's usual spot again. Sketchy was lounging against the one of the soccer goal poles with Cindy a little bit away from him. If I were nun with a ruler I'd be content with the fact that the open space between them was exactly six inches. As I am not so, I only rolled my eyes.

"Hey boo, how's the rest of your day fairin'?" Cindy asked. I let out a loud grumble.

"My metals teacher is a psychopath," I replied as I flopped spreadeagled onto the grass.

"You got Vicks," Sketchy commented, saying it more as a statement than a question. I nodded once anyway. "Yeah, I heard he was pretty scary." I sat back up with my eyes narrowed.

"How come I've never heard of him?" Sketchy just shrugged in answer. "Have you ever had him?" He shook his head. "Who do you know that's had his class?" Again, he just shrugged. I continued to stare at him for a beat before I commented, completely deadpan, "Are you high?"

Cindy let out a snort of laughter. "Hah, he wishes." Then she turned towards me as I began to run my hand over the grass. "If you really hate his class so much, just switch out." I closed my hand over a fistful of grass and ripped it out in a show of frustration.

"I can't. I need that credit to graduate. It's either Metals, Woods, or some technology class and since Vicks teaches both of the former two, and I suck at all things electronic, I think you know what my decision is, no matter how aggravating." I continued to rip up bits of grass.

"Boo, don't take it out on Mother Nature," OC laughed and pulled my hand away from the sea of green plants. "As White Bread over there pointed out earlier, it's only the first day of school. Things could look up. What are your last two classes?"

I laid back down on the grass and closed my eyes against the glare of the sun. Images of my perfect summer flashed through my brain, but I found myself pushing them away. It wouldn't make me any gladder.

"Chemistry then English," I replied flatly. I could hear the smile in OC's voice when she spoke.

"See? You'll have a class with yours truly."

"And two with me!" Sketchy piped up. A smile found its way to my lips. "Hey, I see that! Hurry up and eat before it goes away." I cracked an eye open to look at him in question. "It's better to eat when you're happy than sad." I didn't respond so he opened his mouth to say more but OC cut him off.

"Just eat before he gets tangled in his own logic and trips." I laughed out loud at Sketchy's indignant face.

"Come on, Sketch. Be a pal and pass a girl some of those Doritos..."

* * *

"This _is _the 500s building, right?" I asked as Sketchy and I twirled around in the hall for the millionth time. He nodded but his brow was furrowed, not giving me any sort of solid assurance.

"_I _thought so."

"Then where's 513?" I pointed towards the room in front of us and then the one behind us. "That's 512 and that's 514. Where is it?" A goofy smile crossed Sketchy's face.

"Maybe it's like Platform nine and three quarters," he commented. He even poked the wall next to room 512 with his index finger. I rolled my eyes and pulled his hand away.

"Even if that were true, your finger isn't exactly magical so it won't be opening any otherworldly portals any time soon." Sketchy wiggled it in my face.

"Ya never know..." A giggle escaped before I could stop it as I slapped his hand away, which only caused him to start tickling my ribs. When I finally wriggled out of his grasp, I turned towards the exit only to walk smack into someone's chest.

I stumbled back and started to apologize as the guy gripped my arms to steady me but it froze in my throat when I saw that it was Alec. I swallowed and just stared up at him. His face was devoid of any emotion and was therefore very creepy.

We stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity before I heard Sketchy clear his throat. Alec suddenly dropped his hands from my arms as if they'd caught on fire. I hadn't even noticed he was still holding me.

"You and Gilligan looking for 513?" he asked. I think I nodded since he gestured behind him. "It's outside and to the right." Then he proceeded to exit in the same direction. I couldn't move.

The 'deja vu' feeling was not getting any more of a warmhearted welcome than someone with leprosy would. This time it had been strong enough to make my entire body vibrate and a loud rushing noise filled my head. I didn't know how many more episodes I could take without going crazy.

I felt someone tap my shoulder and let out an involuntary squeak. I whirled around to face Sketchy.

"Whoa, you okay?" He was giving me a look similar to the one he wore when I gave him a disfigured Jack-in-the-Box for his ninth birthday. It was meant to be a joke but he didn't see it that way at first.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just anxious to get started on some good ol' chemistry," I replied quickly, inwardly refusing to acknowledge the possible double-meaning to my words. His look didn't go away so I just grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the classroom.

It had looked like one of those 'staff only' doors when we had passed it on the way inside the building so we had just ignored it. There weren't any obvious windows that were connected with the room either, at least not at the entrance.

"Oh, this is definitely the way to prove you're of good health," Sketchy commented sarcastically. I ignored him, but dropped his hand as we joined the other people that were at the front of the room. The bell had already rung a few minutes ago, but I guess we weren't the only ones who'd had trouble finding the class.

"Welcome to 12th grade Chemistry!" a high-pitched voice called out, which I matched with the short, red-haired woman in front of us. "I hope you all found the room okay. I'll be your teacher Ms. Seri for hopefully the full year, if you choose, but unfortunately it'll just be a semester for some." I couldn't tell if her tone was seriously mournful and the glint in her green eyes just confused me.

"That long? Just a few days would be torture enough with that noise." Jared Diffon pretended to mumble, though his voice was clearly audible. He exchanged a snicker with one of his cronies next to me. I rolled my eyes. Every grade has a token jackass and Jared was ours.

I leaned over as much as I cared to hiss in his ear, "I'd be honored to relieve your pain. Would you prefer me to box the noise out of your head or use a hot poker?" His jaw tightened considerably, but he didn't respond. I smiled humorlessly and returned my attention to Ms. Seri, who'd apparently ignored Jared's comment and continued with her welcoming speech.

Sketchy gave me a congratulatory grin, but as I glanced around the room to check out the different things that Ms. Seri was explaining I saw Alec giving me a calculating look. Our eyes locked and I felt that same pesky feeling start to overwhelm me. Then Sketchy nudged me and when I turned my attention to him, it stopped again.

"Where do you want to sit?" He asked. I shrugged and pointed out a spot at random. The tables I had chosen were parallel with the giant window that overlooked a few bushes and trees and beyond that was the track. Not too bad of a view.

The fact that Alec was only a few seats away was a little unnerving, though. Any time our eyes locked I'd know I'd go all 'human conductor' again.

"Now, these seats aren't permanent. But you can stay like this until I make a seating chart," Ms. Seri announced. "I'm sure your other classes will or already have done this and this one will be no different. It's time to play a little Get to Know You game so you'll be more comfortable around your classmates. There won't be any fun had if everyone is awkward with each other."

God help me.

Ms. Seri began to pass out sheets of paper that had-surprise, surprise-questions about hobbies, families, learning techniques, etc.

"By the end of the period I want you each to have every question filled in by someone else. And remember not to ask the same person more than one question!"

I sighed heavily, but immediately turned to Sketchy with a faux-serious expression and held my pen and paper over my Chemistry book like a reporter.

"Mr. Theodore. It's come to my attention that you are the only heterosexual male who claims classical and Broadway-style music are some of your all-time favorites. Care to comment?" An amused smile flickered across his lips before he mirrored my no-nonsense demeanor.

"Sadly, yes, it's true. I have no one to blame but my parents for playing those sweet melodic treasures whenever I had a tantrum."

"When you were little?"

"No, actually I had an episode last week. There wasn't any toilet paper in the bathroom." We stared at each other for a full beat, struggling to maintain straight faces, but we both cracked smiles at the same time.

"Excellent. Sign your name here please," I laughed, gesturing to the question I had asked him. He obliged before looking at his own paper.

Then he proceeded to quiz me on my ethnicity, to which I replied as tactfully and blandly as I could that my father was a Quigglebug from a planet very similar to Brigadoon and my mother could be both Stepford-ish and Prudy Pingleton-like, depending on the time of week or whether or not I had cleaned my room.

Neither of us bothered holding in our laughter since the answer was so purposefully absurd.

Once we had calmed down, I started to go around the room and ask the other people the routine questions. I had just found out that a girl named Lily Tukson's favorite ice cream flavor was peanut butter and chocolate when I heard that treacherous voice again.

"Ms. Guevara, do you have time for a few questions?" He had a very cocky smirk on his face as he leaned casually against one of the tables, his question sheet dangling from one hand and a pen in the other. I immediately felt the current coming when I glanced at his eyes and forced myself to look elsewhere so I could answer without sounding like a hypnotized idiot.

"Depends on what you plan on asking," I retorted, choosing his mouth as my focus point since it was a feature on his face but still far enough from his eyes and therefore not too obvious that I was uncomfortable being around him. At least I hoped.

"Nothing too personal, if that's what you're worried about. Unless your favorite movie is _The Notebook_, then we might have some problems."

"I'm not worried. _The Notebook_ isn't my favorite movie. I don't have one. Any more questions?" I didn't bother holding back my snippy tone, but I could see his smirk widening. I also noticed that he had really straight, white teeth. And not the creepy artificial kind, it just seemed natural.

"Any hobbies?"

"Definitely not this."

"Music?"

"Anything but country or religious. Are you done?" He let out a small laugh. His lips looked nice when he was just smiling casually instead of smirking.

"Almost." He paused for a moment and I had to reinforce my decision to not look up. "What color are my eyes?" I scoffed in disbelief.

"Ever looked in a mirror?"

"All the time," he retorted without missing a beat. "But I just wanted to know if you found them as interesting as you seem to find my mouth."

Due to stupid reflexes, my eyes immediately flew to his in indignation. My skin exploded in a flurry of tingles. It felt like someone was brushing the tips of a zillion bird feathers on me. If the situation wasn't bugging me so much I'd probably laugh hysterically. But I had a strange motivation to prove him wrong.

"Your eyes are green. I find them as interesting..." I inhaled sharply as the feeling intensified. "As interesting as two globs of algae." Without waiting to see his reaction, I turned to walk towards the opposite end of the room.

Though I did hear him distinctly say, "Is that scientifically speaking or should I take that literally?" I chose to ignore him as I began to ask Dillon Chan how many hours of tv he watches a week.

* * *

Once again, I left a classroom as fast as I could. But this time I had help from Sketchy to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. While I was making sure I didn't seem too frantic but still hauling ass, I could feel Alec watching me again. I couldn't tell if he was amused or confused by my obvious dislike of being around him for too long.

"English with Ronald next, right?" I asked once we were outside the 500s building. Sketchy nodded, giving me another strange look. "What?"

"What's the deal with you and that other guy? His name's Alec, right?" I swallowed painfully. There was no way I could explain to Sketchy what was going on between him and me. _I _didn't even understand what was going on.

"I don't know what you mean. He's just some obnoxious guy that's in a few of my classes. That's all." He continued to look at me for a few beats but finally nodded. I let out a slow breath of relief. He probably knew I was lying but I was thankful he didn't push it.

We met Original Cindy outside the English classroom and walked in together. We froze in our tracks.

Our teacher, Mr. Reagan Ronald according to the white board, was probably the most 'normal' looking English teacher we'd ever had. Freshman year we had Steadwick, a nice enough lady but she would talk about herself in the third person quite a lot, her hair was cut in a strange out-of-style 50s bob that always looked lopsided, and she always wore pants that were almost up to her armpits and just above her ankles. Sophomore year we had Locke. He liked to believe that he was one of the 'kids' and therefore dressed very similarly to the slacker boys that had baggy pants and wrinkled button-down shirts. His hair looked like dark brown springs that had been compressed for a long period of time, fighting all the while, and so always look like they're straining to get somewhere farther than the few inches surrounding Locke's head. Finally, Junior year was when we had Drenlin. She was extremely tiny for her age and had been mistaken for a lost elementary school student more than once. She had very thick glasses that made her eyes look like they belonged on an owl. It was hard to take her seriously at first, which was the case for many teenagers apparently, and so she made up for it by being extremely loud and harsh in her punishments. She even carried around a whistle and blew on it every time someone did something against the rules or she just didn't like.

And now, we had a teacher who was the right height and build for someone his age, his blonde hair was gelled in the front, his glasses were black-rimmed and slightly thick but not hugely overbearing, and he wore simple slacks, a long-sleeved shirt and a tie. The tie wasn't even flashy like the ones Locke had occasionally worn.

So he looked normal. But what was his personality like? Hopefully not the creepy pervy-molester type like Declen. Judging by the fact that he seemed to be named after a former Republican president, there were bound to be a few quirks. We didn't have to wait long to find out exactly what those were.

The bell rang a few seconds later, but there were still some people standing around, including us. 'Normal's face transformed as he bellowed out one word three times that I knew immediately we were all going to hate.

"Bip, bip, bip people! The bell already rang, get in your assigned seats. This isn't a night club, we're here to learn-not have fun."

"Truer words I've never heard in my life," Cindy grumbled as she found her seat, which was in the very front. Normal glared at her. "Hey, you said it first Mister."

"So I did, glad we're on the same page..." He glanced at his seating chart to find her name. "Cynthia Mceachin."

"Original Cindy," she corrected. Normal just looked at her blankly.

"'Scuse me?"

"My name. Either Original Cindy, OC, or Cindy works." His face still showed no emotion.

"Fascinating." Then he turned towards me since I'd been standing by and watching the whole thing with my respect for him dwindling by the second. "Can I help you, Missy Miss?" OC glared daggers at his back while I forced a fake smile onto my face.

"Yeah, I just switched into your class so I don't have an assigned seat," I stated, handing him a note I'd gotten from my counselor earlier. Normal snatched it from me without saying anything and proceeded to inspect it for signs of forgery. I felt my fake smile form into a genuine smirk and I accidentally blurted, "Don't worry, it's authentic. I wouldn't go through so much trouble of faking just to be here."

The class teetered with laughter until Normal shot them an extremely scary look to shut them up. I briefly scrunched my nose in frustration before feigning a look of nonchalance. He didn't say anything for a long period of time and I had to fight the urge to slowly walk backwards out the door.

Then I heard someone clear their throat. A wave of anxiety washed over me.

He was in _another _one of my classes?

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked as he joined us at the front of the room. Normal didn't take his eyes off me.

"No, Missy Miss was just experiencing the first day syndrome of getting her foot momentarily stuck in her mouth. Right?" I could barely nod.

"Well, here's the papers you wanted me to copy, sir," Alec replied, handing him a stack of papers he'd been holding. My brow furrowed in confusion.

Did he just call him 'sir'?

I held back a scoff. What a kiss-ass. Normal seemed to notice my discomfort and like the jerk that he apparently was, seemed to enjoy it.

"This is my TA, Alec," he announced to the rest of the class. I don't usually swear but a series of expletives just soared through my mind at that moment. "Why don't you show her to an open seat?"

"Sure," Alec replied with a smirk in my direction. I wanted to smack him. "Over there looks alright." I glanced in the direction he was pointing to see an empty seat next to what almost looked like a teacher's desk, but it obviously wasn't since Normal's was at the front of the room and was covered with books, papers, etc. The one I was supposed to sit near seemed to have been prepared quickly and on the spot. It was Alec's.

Lovely.

I glared as venomously as I could in his direction as I headed towards the seat. Of course, I immediately got those wretched tinglies so it probably only seemed like a fleeting glance.

The only redeeming quality of Normal seemed to be that he didn't hand out any stupid questionnaires. The papers he had Alec copy were just classroom policies. As Normal went over them, we were supposed to follow along. I tried, but Alec's presence kept bugging me.

Class ended quicker than I expected and as I was packing up, I couldn't help asking him more questions.

"Aren't you new here?" I asked. I felt him stiffen next to me, as if he hadn't expected me to say anything. But a second later he relaxed and had me thinking I'd just imagined it.

"Yeah. Why?" He retorted as he slung his own messenger bag over his shoulder. I shrugged and then forced myself to look straight into his eyes. The sensation was immediate, but I forced myself to ignore it.

"How can you be a TA for a class that you've never had? Isn't that how things work here?" His green eyes glittered as that now very familiar smirk appeared on his mouth. I was amusing him. Bastard.

"I already finished most of my credits at my old school, English included, so I don't have that much else to do. I thought this would be fun." My surprise must have shown on my face. "What? Did you think I wasn't anything more than a pretty face?"

"Actually I was thinking less," I replied. He let out a low whistle and laughed.

"Be nice, Maxie. I'm in a new position of power in this class. You don't want to antagonize me, do you?" I rolled my eyes.

"Why not? It's fun." I started to go then stopped. "Oh, and don't call me Maxie." He just grinned.

* * *

"Well, today was...interesting," Sketchy commented as we stepped off the bus. I laughed out loud.

"You're tellin' me." Original Cindy kicked a pebble into the road. We all watched it bounce a few feet and then dive into a sewer opening. I cleared my throat as Sketchy and I looked at her. "Frustrated?" She made a huffing noise.

"That English teacher is a wannabe white trash fool." Sketchy laughed and held his hands to his heart.

"Gee, Cin. How do you really feel?" She just rolled her eyes.

"Was he really that bad?" I asked. They both stared at me. "I mean, I know he was pretty much a low class jerk on a power trip at the beginning of class, but I just focused on the fact that he didn't pass out any questionnaires for us to fill out."

"Yeah I hate those things," Sketchy commented.

"Of course you didn't notice the way he was the rest of the period, trying to establish his credibility as a teacher by giving us bogus definitions of these fancy-pancy words for no good reason. You were too busy ogling your new boy."

Sketchy led out a loud gasp and his eyes widened immensely as he pointed an accusing finger at me. "I knew it! I knew there was something going on between you two!" I felt my cheeks redden and slapped his hand away.

"It's not even like that," I snapped. OC smiled knowingly.

"Original Cindy knows what she's talking about. I saw you two making googly eyes at each other while Mr. Gel was yapping his mouth off." My mouth dropped open in indignation.

"We were not! I didn't even make eye contact with the guy!"

"You were at the end of class," Sketchy put in. I glared at him.

"I was just asking why he was TA in that class." Cindy's face scrunched in confusion.

"Yeah, how is that possible anyway? Isn't he new?"

I shrugged as I pulled some leaves off a plant that we passed on the sidewalk. It was almost Fall and they were already dry. They crumbled within a few seconds and felt like sandpaper in my hands. I slowly let them flutter to the ground.

Suddenly I was gripped by an indescribable sensation. My entire body felt like it was shoved between ice-cold slabs of metal. I couldn't breathe. A roaring noise filled my head and I struggled to cover my ears with my hands, but it only got louder. A piercing crack sounded out and I felt an explosion of pain behind my eyes. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. Then a flurry of images passed inside my mind, but I could only concentrate on the feeling of something akin to hot lava being poured over my body. I couldn't tell what any of the images were of. They were just smatterings of color and motion.

"Max!"

The pain evaporated as my eyes snapped open. Inhaling sharply, I realized that I was flat on my back and staring up at the concerned faces of Original Cindy and Sketchy. Behind them was the clear blue sky. I even heard a few birds chirping.

"Those aren't around my head, are they?" I asked. Their expressions were contortions of both relief and confusion.

"My god, Max. You just scared the living hell out of us!" Cindy cried. I only grunted. I had the mother of all headaches.

"I'm fine," I muttered as I accepted Sketchy's offered hand. "I just...slipped." They gave me identical incredulous looks.

"Slipped? Max...you did not just slip! Your whole body was convulsing!" I blinked a few times. I couldn't really comprehend what they were saying.

"What? I was?"

"That is _not _an image I could just conjure up. I'm surprised you weren't screaming you looked like you were in such intense pain," Sketchy said, his face the most unsure I'd ever seen him. I swallowed and started to back away.

"I-I'm fine..."

"Max, we need to get you to a hospital or something. What just happened isn't normal. That's never happened before." OC's face suddenly became hesitant. "Has it?" I could only shake my head in the negative.

"I told you, I'm fine. I just...gotta get home." Then I took off down the street before either of them could stop me. That was not an experience that I ever thought I would have. I didn't know what the hell it meant and there was no way Cindy and Sketchy would understand. I just thought that if I got home and maybe went to bed a little early, I might feel better.

As luck would have it, that's when the dreams started.

**A/N-Okay, the story's moving along. I know some parts of it seem kinda pointless but I didn't want to dive right into the crisis yet. Hope you're all enjoying it ;o) Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

At first the dreams were pretty vague. They were usually clearer than the images I had seen on the sidewalk the other day, but they still didn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense.

The first one seemed to be a continuation of what I felt when I had touched those leaves. When the dream first started, I thought I was just reliving it, but then the scenery changed. Instead of a multitude of colors, everything was in black and white. I saw my hand crunch the leaves, but as the remains fluttered to the ground, the point of view changed. As if I were one of the leaves, I looked up into my own face as I fell.

I felt like screaming when I saw my expression. My face was gaunt and my eyes looked almost frightfully dead. I was sickly pale, as if I had never been out in the sun. But that seemed highly unlikely since I could feel the warmth of it, though I couldn't actually see it. The dream always ended with a muffled noise that I couldn't make out and then my eyes suddenly sprang to life. Then I was turning and running towards or away from something.

At first it just seemed like a strange nightmare, but then my dreams started to vary.

In another one, it still doesn't have any color, but I can tell I'm running through a forest. The dirt is soft and smooth, almost like sand. My feet start to sink into it every time they land, but in the next split second I raise my foot and continue sprinting. The wind starts out as a gentle breeze, but the farther I get into the woods and the more anxious I feel at never reaching the end, the harsher it becomes until it's suddenly pushing me backward. I want to shriek for help, but with a simple slap of air, it's blown away. My muscles tense and somehow I get it into my mind to try jumping through the gales. Suddenly I'm lifted through the air and catapulted backward. This nightmare always ends the same as well. Just before I make contact with a huge tree, I wake up.

The shortest of my dreams is also the most frightening. Probably because it's the least clear. There's no sound either. Everything is like a fuzzy old silent movie. There also seems to be some gaps, where time slows down so much the vision just turns black. But only for a second because in the next heartbeat everything speeds up before stopping and repeating the cycle. I can only make out a few parts. First, I'm in a small room and I can only see a few inches in front of my face, but I can feel something soft under me that feels cushiony, like a bed. I get a strange knowing feeling, though I have no idea where I am. Then everything goes black and when light reappears, I'm walking down a hallway faster than humanly normal. I only catch glimpses of doors and a few other people, but I can't make out their faces. I feel something touch my hand and when I look down, I see that someone has slipped their hand in to mine. Before I can look up and register who it is, everything goes dark again. When I can see again, I'm on a hard, cold surface looking into a bright light. Then in the creepy warp speed, people appear above me that are all wearing scrubs, aprons, masks that cover their mouths, and they're wielding sharp operating tools. But this time I can't even open my mouth to scream because I realize I can't feel anything. One of the 'doctors' starts to lower his knife towards my middle and to emphasize just how scary that moment is, the speed slows down til it looks like he's trying to cut through jello. Finally everything gets sucked into darkness and then I wake up.

I haven't told anyone about these dreams because I know what they would say. They're just dreams. Nothing true or real about them, though they may feel like it. I shouldn't put too much thought or weight into them or I'll go crazy.

Too late, I was already there.

Original Cindy and Sketchy haven't forgotten what happened on the sidewalk either. They've been walking on eggshell for the past couple days, waiting to see if it'll happen again. I choose to ignore it as best I can and don't offer any semblance of an explanation other than I had just felt lightheaded, probably from lack of food, and fainted. That was all. Now I vowed to always eat a healthy breakfast and my mom would watch me. I didn't acknowledge the supposed seizures specifically because I couldn't think of anything to say.

I tried not to let it bug me that all of that was basically a pack of lies. Especially since I hadn't even told my mom what had happened. I kept expecting my pants to blow up at any moment. But apparently I was saved from any third-degree burns.

They didn't really believe me, I could tell. I've got hardly any practice in the lying department, so little in fact that the reason they aren't openly confronting me about it is probably because they want to trust me. But after what's been happening to me lately, I'm pretty sure that's a luxury I'm going to be deceitfully stretching to within an inch of it's life. Guess I better get used to it.

As if I'm Ms. Go With the Flow. Hah. Not.

Another interesting-or antagonizing, however you wanna look at it-change in my life came once again in the form of Alec. He was now officially in four of my six classes. Since I hadn't been in first period the first day, I hadn't realized he was in my PE class. So imagine my surprise when I come out of the locker room dressed in shorts and an old faded shirt that had a rabbit with a red bandage over his foot with the words 'unlucky' written above it, and found his smirking face. Then I mentally vowed never to wear that shirt again since it was obviously prophetic.

"Ah Christ..." I muttered and immediately maneuvered OC to stand between us while we waited for our instructor, Mr. Garrison, to come down the stairs and unlock the doors to the gym. It didn't take him long and luckily Alec didn't try to talk to me. At least not yet.

While we were doing warm ups, I made the mistake of venting to Original Cindy.

"Why didn't you tell me he was in this class?" I asked as we ran back and forth between the bleachers thirty times. I saw her roll her eyes.

"Why do you care? It's not like he's in your way. _You're_ not the one who has to sit next to him in squads."

"We hardly do anything that's strictly in only our squads anyway. But you do see why he's so annoying right? He drives me insane." This time she just shook her head.

"Something's obviously going on between you two..."

"Don't even think of referring to him as my 'boy' again." As soon as the words left my mouth, our topic of conversation appeared suddenly at my elbow.

"Hey Maxie. Enjoying the run?" He asked, matching my stride easily when I tried to speed up. I could hear Cindy puffing alongside me.

"It was great before you came, now it's steadily going downhill," I snapped. I ignored the look Cindy gave me, refusing to analyze it even though I knew I was acting like a bitch for no apparent reason. "Go away."

"Aw Maxie you can't mean that. We're good buddies right?" He nudged my arm with his and I felt a charge go through me. After a sharp inhale of breath, I forced my legs to go even faster and I bolted forward. To my chagrin, Alec still managed to keep up.

"If by good buddies you mean someone who'd just as soon drop an anvil on you then yes, I consider us the best of friends," I retorted through gritted teeth. This only made him laugh.

"You don't mean that either," he replied, sounding very sure of himself.

I had lost track of how many times I'd run back and forth, but I didn't care. As soon as we reached one of the sets of bleachers again, I stopped and whirled around, jabbing my finger into his chest. He cocked a single eyebrow and stared right back down at me.

"Find me an anvil and watch me go," I growled, hoping he would just get the message. The corners of his mouth twitched briefly, as if he couldn't decide whether to smile or frown. Before he could make a remark, I turned and walked towards the other side of the gym where some of the others had finished running.

That was what all of our interactions consisted of. Smart-ass comments, uncovered frustration, and an undercurrent of something I still wasn't quite sure of. Needless to say, my senior year was definitely chock-block full of stress by the end of the first week. Now something else was going to be added to it. Something that I hadn't been sparing a single thought for lately.

College.

As was customary for the senior class of our school, on the first Saturday of every year-which just happened to be today-we'd go on a field trip to the local college to see the basic components of what it'd be like.

The instructors always tried to form the seniors into some semblances of groups, handing each a list of all the things they deemed important for us to go and 'drink in the knowledge'. And every year the seniors ignored them and just met up with friends to explore the campus on their own. Most ended up in the cafeteria or on the football/soccer/track field, depending on the weather on the day of the field trip. As today was particularly warm with the unmerciful sun trying to turn us all into little puddles of sweat, the favorable spot was the field. Though the caf was probably air-conditioned, living in Seattle didn't exactly offer many days like this so we usually took the rare choice.

Original Cindy, Sketchy, and I had already been to the campus plenty of times since we knew a few of the people that went there. One in particular we always came to see.

"Maxie!" His familiar deep voice sent a huge grin flying across my face. I turned to see him striding towards us, the sun making his blonde hair shine golden. His grin matched mine as he picked me up in a huge hug.

"Hey Zack," I greeted between laughs. "Stop showing off your strength and put me down." He complied but kept one arm around my shoulder. He said 'hello' to OC and Sketchy by way of bumping fists. I rolled my eyes. "How ya been? Wishing for good ol' easy high school work yet?" He let out a huge comical sigh.

"Always. I'd give anything for Wilkins' high-pitched squeaky voice trying to explain the importance of proteins over my new science teacher's droning voice. You can never tell how excited he is over something. He regards the biggest issues in this world with the same enthusiasm as if he were just explaining why he picked a blue tie to wear instead of a black one."

Sketchy gave him a dubious look. "Dude, Wilkins was your teacher freshman year." Zack just stared right back at him, waiting for him to get it. He didn't.

"He's just saying that compared to the work he gets now, freshman year of high school was the best year and he misses it. Right?" OC clarified. Sketchy smirked as he finally got it.

"Well...that joke fell flat on its face," Zack commented. I rolled my eyes and lightly cuffed Sketchy's shoulder.

"Nah, he's just being extra slow today. I found your joke hysterical," I retorted sarcastically. Zack gave my shoulder a squeeze.

"Guess you just saved your laughter for the inside."

"Don't I always?" Zack made a disbelieving noise and playfully pushed me away.

"Ha ha. See if I tell another joke around you again." I pretended to think it over.

"But the occasion is so rare I don't especially believe it'll throw the regular course of my life off its axis. Probably the opposite will happen." I turned to Cindy and Sketchy. "Don't you agree?" Zack let out a small growl and grabbed me again, ruffling my hair.

"Am I interrupting something?" I felt Zack stiffen as I lifted my head to see the newcomer. My hair blocked the view since Zack had mussed it around and I hastily swiped it away from my face.

The guy looked a few years older than Zack with spikey blonde hair, though his was slightly darker than Zack's. He wore small, silver-rimmed glasses that almost hid incredibly blue eyes. By the neatly ironed clothes he had on and the two thick textbooks he was carrying I guessed he was either a serious book worm or a professor. As I stared at his eyes the traitorous girly-girl in me prayed that he was just a book worm; the lesser of two evils in this case.

"Not at all." The sudden coldness in Zack's voice startled me and my eyes immediately snapped to his own blue ones. The tense silence was confusing and incredibly unsettling. I looked over at Sketchy and Cindy to see their reaction. They seemed to be having the same thought process I was. Cindy loudly cleared her throat and offered her hand to the guy.

"Original Cindy," she introduced as they shook hands. The corner of his mouth turned up and I caught a glimpse of straight, white teeth.

"Logan Cale," he replied. I glanced up at Zack again as Sketchy introduced himself as well. He was still watching Logan with icicle eyes. I gently prodded his stomach with my elbow. As soon as he let his gaze drop down to mine, the icicles seemed to melt. I smiled at him in silent question. I heard and felt him sigh, as if he were giving in to some big request I'd asked of him.

"Logan's my new roommate," he suddenly announced. I looked back and forth between them in surprise.

_That's _how Zack reacts to his roommates when they come by? Geez.

"Interesting," I commented out loud. "I thought you lived with Zane?" Zack nodded.

"I still do. But with his new job, girlfriend, and all that he's hardly around."

"There was just enough room for a third," Logan added, smiling a little. I didn't even realize I was smiling back like an idiot until I saw Cindy giving me a weird look. Logan kept his eyes on me. "I haven't got your name yet." Zack shifted uncomfortably next to me, which I still didn't understand.

"Max," I replied.

"Nice to meet you, Max."

"You too, Logan."

"Great, now we all know each other. Anyone else starving?" Zack suddenly interrupted. I glanced at him again. Why was he being so weird?

"I could stand to eat something," Cindy said before quite obviously elbowing Sketchy's side.

"Umf...Me too," he stated quickly. I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time that day.

"Guess we're going to the cafeteria," I said to Logan. He nodded. "Wanna come?" I saw his eyes fleetingly meet Zack's before answering me.

"I've got some things to do in the library first," he said, holding up the textbooks as if to prove his point. "But if I get done early I'll gladly join you." I smiled.

"Great. Hope you can." He nodded again.

"Thanks. It was nice to meet you all," he gave a wave as he headed in the opposite direction we were taking.

As soon as he was out of earshot I slapped Zack's arm. "What was all that frostiness back there? You looked ready to claw his eyes out if he made single move you didn't like." Zack didn't look at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied calmly. I made a 'phffing' sound.

"Whatever," I muttered as we neared the cafeteria. There were plenty of empty tables. "Alright. Better get a table before they all disappear." I was being sarcastic but I received three weird looks anyway. "I gotta make a run to the little girl's room. Be back in 5." Before they could say anything I hurried off in the direction of the bathroom.

And of course with my non-existent luck, collided with Alec. This was becoming quite the common thing. I glared at him as we both steadied ourselves. His green eyes were laughing.

"How come whenever we meet you're always hurrying off somewhere?" He questioned with that usual cocky smirk. I smiled dryly.

"I think you're mistaking my busy schedule with the urge to get away from you." That stupid smirk didn't even waver. So I looked pointedly at the girl's bathroom sign. "What exactly do you think you're doing loitering around here anyway?" He somehow managed to make his look both incredulous and deadpan.

"I've found the best time to pick up a girl is..." I interrupted him by slapping my hand over his mouth.

"Forget I asked. I should've known you'd make some crude comment." I felt his lips spread into a wide smile beneath my hand and I quickly let go, ignoring how soft they'd felt. He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, suddenly Mr. Casual.

"So how have you found this college so far? Are you considering attending next year?" he sounded like such a pansy-ass I started to smile and forced myself to stop, but I could tell he'd seen it. "So the girl can smile...Interesting." I instinctively tipped my chin up a fraction of an inch.

"I smile plenty, thank you," I retorted, not caring I sounded like a petulant child. He grinned at me.

"So I've noticed," he replied softly, locking eyes with mine. My stomach did a funny little flip flop. Why did his eyes have to be so green? Then I felt that familiar fuzzy feeling creeping around my body and I felt my jaw tighten. He was deceiving me in some way, I knew it. But I was still clueless. I mean, maybe this wasn't deja vu I was feeling. Maybe it was just nausea...

Ha. Yeah right.

"You okay?" A voice startled me out of my reverie. I was still looking at Alec but he clearly hadn't spoken. I could tell because his mouth was pursed and he was looking disapprovingly at someone who wasn't me. I glanced over at the newcomer and instantly recognized Logan.

I couldn't help it, a big smile spread across my face.

"Hi Logan," I greeted. Then I remembered he'd asked me a question. "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled, seemingly satisfied with my answer and turned to Alec, who was giving him the same steely treatment that Zack had. But Logan didn't pick up on it, probably because when he spoke, his voice was the same as it always was and consisted of none of the coldness that Zack's had. It was laid back.

"Alec," he introduced with his usual smirk. Only his green eyes were showing the slightest glint of something unfriendly. "You're Logan I take it?" He nodded.

"Yeah that's me." Alec's smirk widened.

"So what brings you to the girl's bathroom?" Logan and I both gave him startled looks, probably for different reasons. I felt like tackling him for being such a smart ass.

"Uh, well I just finished at the library and Max had invited me to join her and the others when I was done." Alec's eyes flew towards mine for a split second but I couldn't read the expression they held. "So I came in but saw her over here, with you, and the others at a table. I came to say hi and see if the invitation still stands."

More coldness began to show in Alec's face, but his voice still didn't waver from its usual happy-go-lucky sound, even though what he said next wasn't exactly gentlemen-like. "How courteous. How old are you?" Logan's brow furrowed.

"Excuse me?"

Alec's smirk widened. "You know, age, old man. How many years do you have?" Then he looked at me. "You too Maxie." Now I _really_ wanted to hit him.

"You know how old I am," I growled.

"Yeah, but does Mr. Spectacles?"

"I'm a senior here," Logan replied uncomfortably. A blush had steadily crept up his neck. He glanced at me. "I assumed you were a freshman." Alec let out a snarky laugh.

"Well when you assume you really just make an ass out of you."

"Okay, we're going. Lovely talking to you," I snapped sarcastically at Alec and put my hand on Logan's arm to guide him away. Alec's face became hard as soon as Logan's face was turned. His voice was even scarier.

"Always a pleasure," he snapped as well. I blinked in surprise, but turned around nonetheless. He'd never gotten angry before. It was too startling to think about.

"There you are..." Zack's voice trailed off as he noticed my hand still on Logan's arm. I quickly dropped it and cocked an eyebrow at him. He smiled but it was a little tight. "That was longer than five minutes." I shrugged.

"Got ambushed," I replied before realizing I probably shouldn't tell Zack about Alec. But he only squinted at me and Logan. "Did you order food already?" They all gave me weird looks again. "What?"

"It's not a restaurant, boo. You go buy your food at one of the little mini 'walk-thru's," Cindy commented with an eyebrow raised. I felt my face redden.

"Ha. I knew that..." I glanced at Logan in embarrassment, but he only smiled. I relaxed. "Well have you 'bought' your food then?" They shook their heads. "Well, uh, how 'bout I go get stuff for you? I'm feeling generous. What do you want?" After they gave me their orders, Logan offered to help me carry everything. I agreed of course because I didn't want to be rude. I was _not _as OC later said, _giddy_.

"So, how old _are _you?" Logan asked as we waited in line at one of the burger places. I laughed uneasily. Damn that Alec. "If you don't mind my asking."

"No, it's fine. I'm, uh, seventeen. I'll be eighteen on Friday." His eyes widened slightly.

"Seriously?" I nodded, biting my lip and refusing to look at him. "Then you're a senior in high school?" He sounded hopeful. I would have laughed if the situation wasn't so uncomfortable. I nodded again and I actually heard him let out a small sigh of relief. I allowed myself a smile at that. "Then you must be a part of that field trip, when the seniors come every year." More nodding.

"Yeah. I've been here a few times before though. Zack's an old friend."

"How long have you known him?" My brow furrowed and I nibbled on my lower lip as I tried to remember. I saw his eyes fleetingly lock on and I almost cracked up.

"Um..."I began, trying to hold in my laughter, wondering what brought on this strange hysteria. "Since I was about eight, I think. You could ask him, he's always had a better memory than me." He nodded in understanding, smiling. He did that a lot. But it wasn't like Alec's smirk. It was more genuine and didn't make me continuously feel like he knew something I didn't and enjoyed watching the gears in my head furiously try to figure it out. The stupid ass...

My sudden frustration must've shown on my face because Logan looked at me, slightly concerned. "You okay?" he asked for the second time that afternoon. I could only nod and force another smile on my face. I didn't want to tell him about Alec. He didn't really seem to believe me, but he didn't push it either, for which I was grateful.

Once we got all the food and brought it back to the table, I was feeling very comfortable around him. And throughout lunch I found out he was twenty-three, loved pasta, wine, and cats. He told a very cute story about his old cat whom he called Fluffer Nutter. I can't remember anymore, but I swear I was listening and not just staring at his eyes. Really. I also found out he wanted to be a reporter, so he was majoring in something to do with journalism. I really was paying attention, it's just slipped my mind for the moment...

Anyway, eventually he had to go work on a project. But we managed to exchange numbers without Zack noticing. Don't ask me why I decided to keep it from Zack at the moment, I think it's pretty obvious from his earlier behavior that he'd get plenty pissed.

Then our principal announced over the intercom that all the high school seniors were supposed to report to the front of the campus if they wanted a bus ride back to the Lakewood. Otherwise we'd have to find our own transportation.

I didn't want to leave yet since I hadn't seen Zack in a while and I still wanted to talk to him. But OC and Sketchy both said they had to get home.

When I hugged them goodbye, OC whispered in my ear, "Please tell me the reason you're staying is because you want to tell him about your little 'episode' last week." I swallowed. "And not just 'cause you're hoping to get another glimpse at your new boy-toy." I rolled my eyes.

"I thought Alec was my boy-toy," I muttered mockingly. She glared at me. "Alright, fine. But I don't see how he could tell me anything new. I already told you why it happened."

"Don't take this personally, but you suck at lying." I could only stare at her. I knew she was right, but it wasn't like I'd thought of a better excuse yet. She looked like she was gonna say something else, but Sketchy interrupted.

"Come on OC, I don't want to get left behind like on that trip to the EMP last year..." he said. Cindy gave me one last warning look before leaving with him. Then it was just me and Zack.

"What episode was she talking about?" he asked bluntly. He never was one to beat around the bush. I searched frantically for another lie but found none, so I just repeated what I'd told OC and Sketchy even though it had already proven to be pretty sucky, especially since Zack probably knew me better than either of them.

Or not.

He studied my face for a few beats, then he slowly nodded. I tried not to let my relief show. "Well, what else is new?" he asked with a light-hearted grin. That simple question got us babbling for the rest of the afternoon.

I told him about my mom's sudden promotion and how we moved into such a prettier house. I told him how she still won't let me have a car and I was considering just jacking one, except I knew nothing about cars. He told me about how his parents were pressuring him to do better in school, join more sports teams, etc. They've even hinted that maybe he'd be better off in the army. Shocking, huh?

We wandered all around the campus and he pointed out certain teachers that I could look forward to if I went to this college next year and the ones I'd need to have my guard up with. He also introduced me to a few of his friends. Before we knew it, the sun started to slide downwards. Merciful as far as the heat went, but it meant I had to get home.

Zack offered me a ride. I pretended to think it over.

"Well, what kind of car would you be allowing me to grace my presence with?" I asked, as if I gave a crap or knew the difference between a Toyota and Honda Civic. Zack smiled.

"I don't have a car," he said simply. I stared at him with my eyebrows raised.

"Then how exactly are you planning on getting me home? Flying like Superman?" He laughed and shook his head.

"No, I've got a motorcycle." I felt my jaw slowly drop.

"A motorcycle," I repeated dumbly after a few beats. He nodded, enjoying my astonishment. "When...in _hell_ did you get a motorcycle?!" My face had broken into such a huge grin of excitement I'm surprised I didn't bite my own ears. "What kind?" As if it made a difference.

"Ninja 650."

"Color?"

"Black." I nearly keeled over. "I've _always_ wanted to ride on a motorcycle. My god Zack, I love you!" I threw my arms around his neck. He laughed as he returned the hug.

"Nice to know what makes you happiest." I scoffed and pulled away, but kept a grip on his shirt.

"Where is it?" I asked, even though I was already headed in a general direction, tugging him behind me.

"Keeping going straight, it's in the parking lot at the front of the school," he replied, still laughing at my eagerness.

When we reached it, I nearly keeled over again. It was so pretty! I felt like a raccoon, being attracted to the shininess of it all. I looked up at Zack hopefully.

"Can I drive?" He rolled his eyes.

"Please, like I want to get in a crash or arrested," he replied as he swung one leg over the side. I pouted, trying to work my 'feminine charms'. He just looked at me after he put on his helmet, handing me one.

"I'd drive real careful."

"Hah. Still no. Now get on. I don't want your mom chasing me with a broomstick for not bringing you home at a decent hour." I rolled my eyes as I copied his movement and swung my leg over the side before wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Please. That was only when you took me to a 7-11 and all we had were slurpys and candy until nine o'clock. I'm seventeen now, not ten." He shrugged.

"All the same. I don't want to risk it. Those bristle things really irritated my skin." I laughed out loud.

"Whatever. Just drive then." I hurriedly gave him directions.

"'Kay, here we go." The sound of the engine revving was like music to my ears and I let out an involuntary squeal as we took off. I could feel Zack laughing as we roared down the street. I felt the urge to take off my helmet to feel the wind blow through my hair, but Zack would probably get mad. He's overprotective like that. So I hung on for dear life and just enjoyed the ride.

We arrived at my house way too soon for my satisfaction. I let out a pitiful sigh as I swung my leg back off the motorcycle.

"You so have to take me on that thing again," I stated as I returned his helmet. He smiled.

"Sure. Now do I get or hug or what?" I gave him a kiss on the cheek as well as a big hug.

"It was great seeing you again. Thanks a lot for the ride," I said as I pulled away. He had a slightly startled look on his face, but he quickly hid it by putting his helmet back on. Then he cleared his throat.

"Uh, thanks, yeah. Um, you too. See ya later," his voice sounded strangely constricted. I just smiled and waved before heading towards the door to my house. I heard him rev the engine and take off.

Someday I'd get my own one of those. Screw cars, a motorcycle was so much more fun.

"I'm home!" I called as I went inside my house. No one answered so I went upstairs to the kitchen. According to the note written in my mom's handwriting, she had to work late. I sighed and crumpled it up before throwing it in the waste basket. It wasn't the first time.

I went into the living room to grab my bag then headed towards my room. It wasn't that late yet so I figured I'd attempt to do some of my homework. I usually wait til Sunday night like a typical teenager of my generation, but I felt weirdly compelled to get it done.

One 500 word essay about the current situation in Somalia and 50 problems of math and science later, I was ready for bed. I stared at my blue-green quilt cover and matching pillows and knew I was done for. Nothing sounded better than changing into my comfy pajamas and sleeping the rest of the night away. Preferably dreamless.

Yeah, that'll happen.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was off to la-la land.

* * *

_A sudden roaring noise made my eyes snap open. I flipped off my covers and ran to the window. All I could see in the dull yellow light of the street lamps was a motorcycle and a figure waving at me. I couldn't see their face, but I recognized the motorcycle. _

_It was Zack's. _

_I motioned that I'd be right down and quickly turned to put on some better clothes than a tank top and boxers. But when I looked down at myself, I saw that I was already changed into a gray t-shirt and the kind of pants that soldiers in the army wear. Camouflage. _

_It seemed a bit absurd to me, but I just shrugged and hurried out of my room and down the stairs. Zack was waiting. _

_When I exited the house, I noticed how eerily silent everything was. No infamous cricket chirps or even the slightest rustle of a branch. I looked up at the sky. It was pitch black. Not a single star. _

_At first I began thinking about how horrible our pollution is in this world, but then my gaze dropped down again. _

_The yellow light was gone. I mean, there was still light, but it was just white. I looked around at everything. It'd all transformed to black and white. Again, I only shrugged and walked the last few feet to where Zack was standing by his motorcycle. _

_I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I looked into Zack's eyes and I suddenly realized it wasn't him at all._

_It was Logan. _

_He smiled that easy smile of his, eliciting one from myself. I couldn't help it. It was just so...easy. He nodded towards the motorcycle, which was still the same. I knew instantly that he was asking for me to go with him. _

_Instantly I started to nod, but then I found myself hesitating. Something wasn't right. I looked up into his eyes again and I swear for a second they were an amazing shade of green. They were familiar, but for some reason my brain wouldn't comprehend whose eyes they'd reminded me of. _

_Then Logan took my hand and held it for a bit. It was surprisingly warm. Then he led me over to the motorcycle and gestured for me to get on. I complied and then looked at him expectantly, thinking he was going to get on ahead of me to drive. I figured he knew I didn't know how to maneuver one. Instead, that smile remained on his face and he got behind me. His arms wrapped around my waist and suddenly the motorcycle started. _

_But I hadn't touched it. I looked down at the handles, gas gauge, everything, trying to comprehend it as the bike started to steadily move forward. Without thinking, I gripped the handles and pushed forward on the accelerator. _

_The bike shot forward with inhuman speed. We were going faster than Zack had. Shocked, I lifted my foot off the accelerator. We immediately slowed. _

_The scenery had changed. Instead of the streets outside my house, we were in the same woods from my dreams. I looked over my shoulder to see what Logan thought of all this, but he'd disappeared. _

_I stepped off the motorcycle and touched my hand to a nearby tree. It was the same as any other tree, but for some reason it evoked some feeling that I was becoming familiar with. _

_Deja vu. _

_For a split second the woods transformed into another forest, one I would've bet big bucks, if I hadn't known any better, was the forest park a few blocks from my house. Which just confused me even more. _

_Then I glanced to the left and stiffened immediately. _

_Alec was leaning against another tree only a few yards away. He wore the same army fatigues that I did as well as his usual smirk. He unfolded his arms and waved at me. It was a taunt. _

_I took one step towards him and he suddenly sprinted away, jumping over tree roots that would otherwise trip him and pushing leaves and branches out of his way. Without hesitating, I took off after him. _

_It became exactly like my dream of running through the woods, complete with the sandy dirt and gradually harsher wind, with only one exception. I was chasing Alec. _

_When it came time for me to jump like I did in that other dream, something inside told me to do otherwise. I saw the tree that I would crash into if I tried to clear the wind. I sprinted around it, keeping Alec in my sight. _

_It seemed like forever, but eventually I got close enough to grab him by the shirt. I tugged and he retaliated by dragging me with him. A big hill appeared and we went tumbling down. I kept a hold on his shirt and he did the same to me. We amazingly missed all the trees and when we finally reached the bottom, we collided again. _

_Our limbs were entangled. I let go of his shirt first as I tried to sit up, but he yanked me back down. I could only stare at his eyes as his face was just a few inches from mine. I knew we were both breathing heavily, but I couldn't hear it. And why weren't his eyes green? _

_My brow furrowed as I tried to contemplate what was going on. That familiar smirk appeared again and to my shock he lightly brushed the side of my face with the back of his hand, but he didn't say anything. _

_I watched him for a beat longer, then we both sat up. He got to his feet first and offered his hand to me. I took it without hesitating, but when we stood together he didn't let go. I still couldn't do anything except look at him in confusion. _

_When he reached his hand up to my face again, I stepped away. I didn't understand anything that was happening. His expression wasn't one of hurt, though. He just cocked his head slightly to the side, waiting to see what I would do next. _

_I kept walking backwards and without warning a sharp pain shot up my leg. I opened my mouth to cry out, but of course there was no sound. Now Alec looked concerned. In a split second he was by my side. It startled me so much I fell over. _

_He grinned at me as he gently lifted my leg for inspection. He rolled the bottom of the pant leg up to see that a branch or something had scratched me. His grin turned into a smirk as he mouthed 'baby'. I hit his shoulder in response before looking down at my cut. My eyes widened in shock. _

_The blood coming out was bright red against the rest of the black and white scenery. I looked at Alec for an explanation. He just stared back. _

_His eyes flashed a brilliant green. _

_I blinked in surprise and in the single beat that took, he was gone. _

* * *

I woke up with a gasp and stared at my ceiling, trying to catch my breath. That dream was definitely new. I lifted the covers and saw that I was still wearing my tank top and boxers, instantly feeling foolish for even checking. Then I felt a sharp pain in my leg and bit my lip from letting out the cry of shock that was bubbling in my throat. A wave of foreboding passed over me as I slowly sat up and lifted the covers all the way off my body.

There was a very obvious cut and dried blood around my ankle.

**A/N-Heh heh. Hope you all are liking this so far. Reviews are incredibly appreciated ;o)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Needless to say, things between me and Alec were even stranger after that night. Not that he seemed to notice at all. Well, he noticed I was acting even more resistant to him, but he didn't know why. Or if he did-highly unlikely unless he was Freddy Kruger...ew-he didn't show it. He was his usual teasing and taunting self. I wasn't sure if I should be grateful or disappointed.

As if things weren't nerve-wracking enough, I could tell my mom was trying to plan a surprise party for my 18th birthday. Honestly, getting a year older is about the last thing on my mind. But it seems to be taking a creepy first on hers.

I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, because I'm not. I think it's great that she's trying to make it fun for me, but there's always that niggling thought that she may just be easing me into something big she's gotta tell me. Like I'll probably have to pay rent if I'm gonna stay at home after I finish high school.

When she told me that she got a promotion and that we'd be moving into a bigger house, she sent me, Original Cindy, and Sketchy to Wild Waves for the day even though it wasn't exactly bad news and we hadn't actually been there for like six years. But then she also does this kind of thing for the not-so-good news.

I was only about two or three when my dad left us, but according to my mom and some other family members, she spoiled me with toys and stuff for almost a week before actually telling me out loud. As if I hadn't figured it out myself when I'd be crawling around and saw all of his stuff gone. Not that I remember, I just figure that's how it was.

Anyway, back to the situation with Alec.

We started Pickleball in PE on Wednesday, one of the many sports I suck gloriously at. Therefore I was none too happy. Especially since, big surprise, Alec was the exact opposite. And we were doing challenge court, which meant we partnered up, went to the court that fit our ability-awesome to horrible-and played a bunch of games. Winners would move up and losers would move down. Unless the losers were at the very last net, then they couldn't move at all.

Well, after a few sucky games guess who ended up there? Yep, me and OC. And guess who played so freakishly well and didn't lose a single game so he ended up there as well? Yeah, that would be Alec and his partner Derek, who was almost as good.

Alec greeted me with a wide smile as he twirled a paddle in his hand.

"Hey Maxie, Cindy," he remarked happily. I felt like throwing my own paddle at his head.

I think we've already established that I'm generally a violent person by now...so no need to act shocked anymore.

Instead I gripped my paddle and gave him my own smirk by way of hello. I saw Cindy roll her eyes.

"He's just another asshole, Max. He's gonna want to embarrass you. Don't make it easier for him," she muttered as we got into our positions. I opened my mouth to retort but she already served the ball.

Derek effortlessly hit it back over. A simple rally like that went on for a bit. But just when I felt I was starting to get the hang of it, Alec thwacked the ball so hard I had no time to retaliate.

I felt the beginning of a glare coming on, but I remembered OC's advice and relaxed my face, even forcing a smile. Alec just cocked an eyebrow at me when I picked the ball up to serve.

Another easy rally went on for a bit and I knew Alec was gearing up to whack it again. Sure enough, a few seconds later he held his arm back farther than usual before connecting with the ball. It streaked over the net straight towards me. I swung at what I thought was the appropriate time, but I just barely missed.

I wanted to wipe that cocky smirk off Alec's face and one look at OC's expression told me that it was showing so I attempted to relax again as I tossed the ball to Derek. It was his turn to serve.

Yet another simple rally resulted once the ball was in the air. I waited until Alec showed his usual sign and this time, I didn't miss. I gave the hit as much power as I could to send it soaring over the net into Derek's side of the court. It dipped at the best possible point so he didn't stand a chance.

I couldn't help it, I shrieked with joy.

Cindy gave me the beginning of a weird look, but a second later she was grinning too once she saw my face. We slapped our paddles together with a loud clank.

"Good job, boo."

Still grinning, I turned to look at Alec as he was about serve. He wasn't smirking, but the corners of his mouth were turned just a little and his eyes had a strange glint as he watched me. I swear it was almost...predatory.

Just before he was about to serve the ball, our teacher blew the whistle. It was time to go change. Needless to say, I was relieved. That look Alec had had given me a very strange feeling. I don't even want to _attempt_ to describe it.

And of course my next class included him along with the evil anti-Santa teacher. Hellish fun, here I come.

Vicks had apparently made a seating chart from the places we had sat down in on the first day last week, so I was stuck with Alec across from me. At least everyone was so afraid of Vicks biting their head off for talking, hardly anyone spoke. Usually that included him, but I guess today he was feeling extra chatty.

"Great game in PE, Maxie," he said, his voice just low enough for only me and the two people next to us to hear, but they just ignored him. An ability I envy.

"Shut up," I hissed back, keeping my head down. "And stop calling me Maxie."

"Why not? Isn't that what your buddy Zack calls you?" My head snapped up at that so I could glare at him. He just looked at me expectantly.

"I don't want _you_ calling me that. You're not Zack." His jaw slowly slid from left to right as if he wasn't quite sure what to say next. I put my head down again to concentrate on the design we were supposed to be drawing before actually building, but then he spoke.

"Like I would want to be. Big block head and pansy blonde hair..." His voice was surprisingly spiteful and I almost laughed out loud.

"Geez. Jealous much?" I taunted, not looking up. Then I heard a dull snap. I glanced up in surprise to see that he'd snapped a pencil in half. My eyebrows rose practically up to my hairline. He blinked a few times as he stared at the broken pencil, as if he hadn't actually expected that to happen.

"Problem, son?" I nearly fell out of my seat. I hadn't seen Vicks come up to our table. I glanced at his expression and instantly was filled with dread. I never knew a person could literally shoot out rays of hate from their eyes...

But Alec seemed unaffected. His mouth spread into an innocent smirk as he said, "No problem. _Dad_. Guess I was just so excited with the prospect of making my drawing come to life." He held up the useless pencil and piece of paper to demonstrate. Vicks' jaw was incredibly tight and his face was turning a strange mixture of red and purple.

I couldn't stop it. A giggle escaped.

Then his eyes were on me like a hawk to its prey. Dammit.

"Think the pretty boy's antics are funny, eh?" he taunted. I felt a blush creeping up my neck and I couldn't look at anything but the 8 x 11 paper in front of me.

"No sir," I muttered to the table.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you girl!" he roared. "And say it again. Did you find his careless destruction of school property particularly hilarious?" I felt my entire body tighten and I slowly lifted my head to look at him. I knew my face was on fire, but I hated it when people yelled at me in front of crowds. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of completely embarrassing me. "Well? Speak up!"

It took a lot of effort to unclench my teeth. When I spoke, my voice sounded scary even to me. "What I find so funny is the fact that you're so bent out of shape over a sliver of wood and lead when on your desk is a cup full of at least ten extras. And aren't you a Woods teacher? Surely you can fix it without too much complications." I didn't dare lower my eyes from his as his face became an even darker purple.

The rest of the class gasped audibly as it were some court room drama. If I wasn't having a staring contest with a life-size eggplant, I'd be laughing. But I guess Alec had that covered. Vicks and I looked over at him at the same time as the rest of the class.

He had on the biggest smile I'd ever seen.

"That's it! Both of you report to the security office right now! I won't be mocked and disrespected in my own classroom!" Alec was still smiling while my face felt numb as we picked up our things.

"Sure thing, Pops," he remarked. Vicks looked like he was about to explode so I quickly pushed Alec out the door before he spewed lava.

Once we were outside, we paused to sling our messenger bags over our shoulders. Then I punched Alec's shoulder as hard as I could. He wasn't expecting it and let out a cry of pain.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he asked, rubbing it while I stalked off ahead of him towards the office.

"That was for getting us in trouble, dumbass!" I hissed after he caught up. He scoffed and put out an arm to stop me. I did momentarily, but only to thwack him in the same spot before moving on.

"Ow! Would you stop that?!" He reached out and grabbed my bag, pulling me back to face him. "Hey, no one made you talk back to him. You could've just repeated what you first said. That you didn't find what I did particularly funny." I tore my bag out of his grasp as I glared at him.

"As if I was gonna just let him treat me like some worthless smuck. All I did was laugh! He had no right to yell at me." Alec opened his mouth to respond but I jabbed my finger at his chest. "And _you_ are evil incarnate for talking to me in the first place! If you hadn't said anything, then neither of us would be about to get detention." His jaw tightened as he grabbed my finger that was pointed at his chest, not hard, just enough to get my attention.

"Again, no one _forced_ you to talk to me either! You could've ignored me like you usually do. Stop trying to load all this on me. You know you had a part in it too," he argued. I wrenched my hand from his, but didn't say anything for a few beats as I looked away. He was right, I guess, but that didn't make me feel any better.

When I met his eyes again, he was watching me carefully, probably wondering if I was gonna smack him again.

"You antagonized him first," I commented, not able to think of anything else to say. "You called him 'Dad'." A smirk began to appear.

"I figured it was appropriate. He called me 'son'. I hate it when people do that," he replied. I rolled my eyes.

"And look where it got us." He shrugged.

"How was I supposed to know you had some fire in you reserved for authority figures that piss you off? Or even that you might find it funny at all..." I copied his shrug.

"Guess I'm just full of surprises," I said simply. The genuine smile that came next lit up his face. He looked proud of my statement.

"Guess so."

The silence that fell between us wasn't exactly awkward, but it still made me a little uneasy. He seemed to notice so he gestured for me to go first. Then together we continued our trip to the security office.

* * *

What I still didn't understand while we were sitting in Chemistry later on, was why Alec had broken the pencil in the first place. He had pointed out that Zack was allowed to call me Maxie, and when I teased him by saying he was jealous...

Was that it? It just didn't seem probable. Why would Alec be jealous of Zack? I didn't want to put myself on a pedestal and say it was all because he and I are so close that Alec wants to be in his position. That's just too absurd. If he thought of me that way he wouldn't irritate me so much, right?

Crap, now I have a headache.

I bet it was just an accident. The pencil was probably just flimsy.

I looked down at the pencil I held in my hand as Ms. Seri continued to talk about atoms, moles, particles, and a bunch of other things I didn't understand. I bet Alec had just gripped the pencil a little too hard. He does have very strong hands, it was probably really easy...

Oh god, I did _not _just think that.

I gave my head a slight shake before continuing to stare at my pencil. It wasn't exactly a productive thing to do, but I couldn't help it. Not knowing his reason for snapping it was driving me crazy. Why didn't I just ask him? Why didn't he tell me? Why...

_Snap!_

Startled, I stared down at my hand. I'd broken my pencil in half. Suddenly amused, I let out a small laugh and glanced over at Alec. He cocked an eyebrow at me and started to smile when I held up the two parts of my pencil.

I mouthed 'oops' before turning to ask Sketchy if I could borrow a pencil of his.

The rest of the period went by surprisingly quick. As I was putting my stuff away, Alec came over to my and Sketchy's table.

"Get down the notes okay?" he asked casually. I smiled a little and nodded. "Good. It's hard to write when you break your utensil in two, huh?" I nodded again.

"Luckily Sketch had an extra one," I replied. Sketchy was looking back and forth between Alec and me with a funny look on his face. "What?"

"What's this? You actually managed to say complete sentences to each other without adding any hostile language. Am I in bizarro world?" I exchanged an amused glance with Alec before answering Sketchy.

"No, he and I just bonded over a live demonstration of the first amendment," I joked. His nose scrunched in confusion.

"You bonded over talking about the constitution?" he asked, as if it were the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. I rolled my eyes.

"I wasn't at lunch, remember?" He nodded. "That's because Alec and I got in trouble with Vicks." His eyes widened eagerly.

"Dude, that was you guys? Everyone's been talking about a girl and a guy who back-talked that psychopath, but OC and I didn't get a name. No one's ever done that before. Well, maybe someone has and they just didn't live to tell about it. Tell me _exactly _what happened." I exchanged another look with Alec before we recounted the story, complete with the fact that we now had detention together after school on Friday picking up trash around the campus.

"Wow, that sucks," Sketchy commented somberly when we'd finished. He patted my shoulder with an exceptionally sad face. "Especially for you." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Why?" I glanced fleetingly at Alec. Did Sketchy think it was all his fault like I had at first? "I deserve it just as much even if Vicks is a psychotic ass." Now he was looking at me like I had a gazillion heads.

"Max. It sucks because you're turning eighteen on Friday."

My jaw dropped open. Alec started to laugh. "Wow. You actually forgot your own birthday." I thumped the heel of my hand against my forehead.

"Ugh...I'm so stupid! And my mom's got this whole party thing planned, what am I supposed to tell her?" Sketchy stared at me in shock.

"You know about her idea to send you, me, Cindy, and Zack over to Crash?" I felt Alec bristle beside me, but I didn't want to question the cause so I just stared at Sketchy in amazement.

"_That's_ my mom's plan? She's gonna actually _let _me go there now?" It dawned on him that I actually had no idea what my mom's plan had been. A sheepish expression steadily spread across his face.

"Uh...oops." I opened my mouth to say something else, but my cell phone suddenly started to ring. Thankfully the rules involving keeping them off at all times didn't apply when school had officially already ended, otherwise I might've been looking at even more detention. I fished the phone out of my bag and checked the caller ID. It was a number I didn't recognize, but I answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Max?" I didn't really recognize the voice either, though it was definitely a guy.

"Yeah, speaking. Who's this?"

"It's Logan. Logan Cale. From the college." My eyes widened in surprise. I'd forgotten I'd given him my number.

"Oh, Logan hi. I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. What's up?" Sketchy and Alec were looking at me with strange looks on their faces so I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the door. After a beat, they followed me.

"Nothing much. I was just taking a break from this essay that I have to write and I decided to call you. See how you were." I felt my face break into a wide smile.

"That's sweet. I'm doing great." Except for having to have detention on my friggin' eighteenth birthday. Stupid school judicial system. "How are you?"

"I'm alright. But you know, with this, uh, little break I'm on now, I'm kind of bored. Are you busy?" He actually sounded nervous. I looked up as Original Cindy came striding up to us. When she saw me on the phone and Alec and Sketchy leaning casually against the 500s building while trying to eavesdrop, she raised her eyebrows in questioning.

"No, school just finished," I replied as Sketchy mouthed 'Logan' then proceeded to quickly fill her in on exactly why Alec was there at all.

"Oh, do you need a ride? Because I, um, could give you one. If you wanted. Then maybe we could go...out for coffee or something," he said that last part in such a rush it made my smile widen.

"Sure, that sounds great. Do you know where it is?" I heard him give a small sigh of relief before quickly saying that he did. "Great, see ya in a bit." I hung up and turned to see my friends giving me sly looks while Alec seemed carefully neutral.

"Boo, did you just get a date with a college boy?" Cindy asked, a grin already sliding across her face. I gave them an enigmatic smile as I readjusted my shoulder bag. I put my phone away. Of course they knew it right away.

"Wow, Maxie's playing the field," Sketchy commented, giving me an appraising look.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not sure where he got that idea. I hadn't been dating anyone since the summer.

"That Matt guy." Was it just my imagination or did Alec just become as rigid as a brick wall? "The summer just ended and already you're going for somebody else." Yep, I bet if I poked him with my finger he wouldn't even notice. If I tried to kick him I'd probably break my foot. I was about to try when what Sketchy just said began to register. I stared at him in bewilderment.

"What? I haven't seen Matt in like a month, how does that count as playing the field?" Sketchy just shrugged and began to lead Original Cindy away.

"Whatever you say, Maxie. Unlike you, we don't have a homely college boy coming to give us a ride, we gotta take public transportation." I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Is that a subtle way of asking for one for yourself?" He chose to ignore that comment and turned to Alec.

"Dude, do you ride the bus?" Alec blinked a few times before shaking his head. He seemed to have forgotten anyone else was there.

"No, I'm good. I've got my own ride." Sketchy's eyes lit up, probably hoping to hitch along.

"Car?" Alec scratched the back of his neck, a clear sign that he was uncomfortable. I didn't quite get why. Sometimes Sketchy smelled a little funny but he wasn't _that _bad.

"Uh, yeah. But it's not mine. I'm getting a ride from some friends." Oh, that's why. Sketchy's eagerness deflated as he and Cindy waved goodbye. I got a special look from Cindy though before she turned her back. I knew that she wanted to know my version of exactly why Alec was there without my biting his head off. I'd also have to give her all the details of my 'date' with Logan.

I turned to Alec, who had an odd look on his face again. An awkward silence hung in the air so I quickly cleared my throat. The look disappeared. "So. Guess we should get to the parking lot, huh? Unless you're meeting your friends somewhere else?" He shook his head.

"No, I usually meet 'em in the lot." I nodded. Then, having nothing else to say, led the way towards the student parking area. Luckily it wasn't that long of a walk because I was about to die from the tense silence. I didn't even know _why_ it was tense, it just was. But maybe that's because I can be pretty dense sometimes. As would be proven a few minutes later when Alec's 'friends' joined us.

I was expecting just a group of average guys. Maybe they were overweight or chose to dress like they just rolled out of bed. Or maybe they were the loud jock types and would come running into the lot trying to catch a football or something. What I didn't expect them to be were two girls.

To be specific, they were Brin from my math class and the girl I had nearly bulldozed over on the first day back. Turns out she was new, not a freshman. She was a senior and didn't look nearly as mousy or shy without all the contents of her backpack spilled on the ground. Her hair was pulled back in a modest ponytail and she was wearing the traditional hip-hugger jeans and t-shirt that most girls in our generation tend to lead towards. Brin was thankfully less girly and wore cargo pants and a long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It was still about eighty degrees out after all.

Both looked surprised to see me standing with Alec. My facial expression probably wasn't that different, but I quickly forced a smile.

"Hey Brin. And, um..." I looked at the other girl but I couldn't remember if we'd exchanged names in our collision. Thankfully she smiled back and introduced herself.

"I'm Jondy," she held out her hand. It took me a moment to realize I was supposed to shake it. That's how far gone I was. I know, I'm a idiot.

"Max," I responded. She nodded in greeting. Then all our eyes turned to Alec at the same time, as if we expected him to be the one to explain.

"So you guys know each other?" he commented, the hint of a smile on his lips as he rocked back on his heels. I rolled my eyes. Leave it to him to find the whole situation amusing.

"Well..." Brin glanced at her watch before looking back up at Alec with a pointed look on her face. "We've gotta get going. See you in math tomorrow, Max." I opened my mouth to say bye but she was already pulling Alec and Jondy away.

What had happened to the overly-polite girl?

Alec gave me a crooked grin and a wave as he was dragged towards Brin's car. I didn't wave back. Not very mature, but I was suddenly feeling very distracted. And like a complete fool. Of course Alec would have girlfriends, by that I mean simply friends that were girls if I took what he said earlier literally, but for some reason telling myself that didn't ease the weird feeling that was coming over me. I think it had more to do with Brin's sudden change in behavior than Alec's choice of company. To be fair, I don't actually know her that well, but I don't think I was imagining her coldness just now. Had I done something wrong?

Just as I was questioning this, a car pulled up in front of me. I wasn't paying that much attention to it when the window rolled down and there was Logan. I blinked a few times in surprise before quickly recovering with a bright smile that I had to partly force.

"Hey. Wanna get in out of the heat?" he asked. My answer was to open the passenger door and hop in. "Of course, it's not that much better in here."

"It's fine," I assured him, beginning to wonder if he was always this nervous. Or if it was just when he was around a pretty girl.

Ha ha.

"So where do you want to go?" he asked as he steered the car out of the parking lot. I looked out at the traffic ahead of us. A bunch of students were trying to get out at the same time so it was particularly crowded. But I also noticed a slight gap in the lane that was going to the left.

"That way," I responded, gesturing to the open space. Logan glanced at me.

"Alright, but what exactly is 'that way'?" he asked as he pissed off a bunch of anxious high school students by crossing in front of them. There was quite a chorus of angry car horns. None of which were actually musical.

I tried to think of some place that we could hang out in that direction, but my mind was currently on other topics that had nothing to do with the guy next to me. I had just pointed out the gap because it was there.

"Uh, why don't you pick?" He gave me a strange look, probably contemplating whether or not he made a mistake and should just turn back around to the school. Then his lips formed a slightly unsure smile.

"Well, I don't hang out in this neighborhood a lot anymore, but I do know of some places downtown. That is, if you don't mind going." I raised an eyebrow at him in reply.

"I'm in the car aren't I?" His smile gained some strength.

"Great. Ever been to the Seattle Center?" Now it was my turn to give him a weird look.

"Uh, yeah. I believe everyone who's lived in Seattle for a least two years would have at least spent five minutes in there." Logan didn't seem bothered by my response, in fact he nodded as if it were exactly as he'd expected.

"So you've been up the Space Needle then?" I didn't say anything. He laughed, correctly assessing the reason for my silence. "Never? You haven't even just ridden the elevators up and down?" Now I shook my head, laughing.

"Sounds like fun, but no. I've never done that. It always seemed like just a tourist attraction. Why would I join in on that when I'm not a tourist? I legitimately live here." He nodded in understanding.

"I get that. I myself have only been up there once or twice. I know it's a, uh, school night." I laughed at the way his voice showed his obvious disbelief that he was actually using those words in a 'high school' related capacity. "But would you like to go for a bit? At least just to see the scenery?"

I nodded in answer. "Yeah, I'd like that."

With that said, twenty minutes later I was on top of the world.

**A/N-This chapter didn't have a whole lot of exciting stuff, it was more of a stepping stone or a filler, I guess. But don't worry, the next will have plenty...heh heh ;o) Review please! **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Okay, so it wasn't exactly the top of the world. I know there are plenty of other buildings that are like twice the size of the Space Needle. And that doesn't include airplanes, which definitely soar way higher. But that doesn't mean the view was any less breathtaking.

The elevator ride up alone was awesome. At first I figured it'd be just like a regular elevator and shoot up so people would be like 'oh hey, we're 500 feet off the ground'. Instead, it's a steady climb so everyone can actually see the ground gradually get farther and farther away and the people outside the Seattle Center all crane their necks to see it so they begin to look like little colorful push-pins. Since the Space Needle isn't that close to any sky scrapers, they didn't cluster the view of the mountains, which I could see a whole lot better once we actually reached the observation deck.

I barely glanced at the gift-shop as I blazed through it to get to the outside. The elevator ride up had given me only one perspective, but now I wanted to see the whole thing. I heard the unbalanced footsteps of Logan as he hurried to catch up. I politely pushed pass a crowd of tourists who were taking pictures of the landscape to reach the edge of the hovering disk. I grasped the bars that constricted me from leaning over the edge as I looked out. Logan sidled up to next to me.

"Why are these here?" I asked without taking my eyes off the Cascade Mountains. Logan wrapped his hands around the bars as well, but had his head facing towards me.

"Keep people from jumping off," he replied. I gave him a disbelieving look, to which he shrugged. "It's true. Some people dove off in the 70s, so they decided to put this 'safety grid' up."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm sure suicidal Seattlelites were really bringing in the tourists," I commented dryly. Logan didn't respond and I realized talking about suicide on the first date was probably a big no-no. And I would know since I've been on so many.

Ha ha.

"Did anyone ever just jump for fun? Like with a parachute?"

"Yeah, some chose to do a little base-jumping. But because of the illegal factor, not so many have been able to get away with it un-handcuffed." Oh great, now we're heading towards jail territory. Like his mind needs to be given a segue to that little voice that reminds him that it's generally considered a little strange for twenty-three year olds to date high school students, nevermind the fact that I'd be eighteen in two days.

Too late, I could feel the uncomfortableness sliding between us. I quickly turned from staring at the beautiful scenery of downtown Seattle to give him my full attention. "So what other trivia do you know about this place?" He looked almost startled at my question.

"It's, uh, designed to withstand an earthquake of 9.5 magnitude," he supplied with half-hearted enthusiasm. Okay, so he was geek. But he was a geek with _amazing _blue eyes and a killer smile, which I got the full privilege of seeing after a small laugh accidently slid out before I could stop it. "Sorry, that was the first thing I could think of."

I impulsively took his hand in mine and moved towards another part of the observation deck. Ignoring the clicks and whirs of some tourists' cameras, I turned to face him again with a playful grin on my face.

"What other little anecdotes do you feel like sharing?"

* * *

Overall, I don't think the date went that bad. The Space Needle is probably not the most conventional place to host one, but I still enjoyed it. I couldn't believe I'd never been up there. Since I always considered it to just be a trap for tourists' money the thought just never occurred to me. Did the people who lived around the Empire State Building or even Disneyland feel the same?

Logan assured me the possibility was there. And he definitely seemed to know what he was talking about. He sure had plenty of statistics and moral issues to share with me. Which, okay I admit, wasn't the best part of the date. Original Cindy full-heartedly agreed with me after I called her when I got back home.

"How sad that little college boy's life must be if all he thinks he can share with a girl is a couple numbers and events we've already been lectured about in history class. Bet you had to mentally shake yourself awake every time your boy started spouting about how people he's never even met been wronged."

"Easy, Cindy. He's just opinionated and cares about people. Is that so wrong?" I argued, feeling a little affronted for Logan's sake. Cindy just scoffed.

"Boo, there's a difference between caring about those ya love and genuinely don't want anything bad to happen to 'em, and only spewing meaningless facts that wouldn't actually change a thing from what's _already _happened and only doing so to impress a girl." I heard her pause and figured she probably had to catch her breath.

"You seem overly worked up by this."

"I just don't like it when some guy turns a date with my friend into a sad excuse for a guilt-trip business meeting. You deserve better."

"Thanks for your concern, but honestly, it wasn't that horrible. My honor and dignity are still fully intact," I replied, laughing.

"Yeah, you already told me about the scenery." Now I rolled my eyes. Would she ever give up?

"That wasn't the only good part. He's got really pretty eyes." Cindy made a disapproving noise on the other end of the phone. "And he didn't nod off or stare at some other girls when I talked about how _I _felt about the issues he was telling me about, which is more than I can say about most guys my age." Or myself, considering my reaction every time he started in on a new subject.

"Whatever. If you want to move your standards bar a little lower from that hot lifeguard you hooked up with over the summer, then be my guest."

I gave the phone a bemused look. "What are you talking about? You never even met Matt. How do you know his status is higher than Logan's?" Cindy made another noise, though this time it sounded as if she thought I was being incredibly naive.

"Lifeguards actually, physically, save people every day. Or at least every time they're in that high chair of theirs. They don't press their hero complex on other people. And they're known for being eye candy, not that that's part of my own personal reasoning, unless you're talking about the female variety."

Rolling my eyes, I let out another laugh. "OC, you're impossible. It was just one date. Your expectations are too high."

"Well answer me this, then." She didn't wait for my consent before asking her question. "At the end of the date, when he brought you home. Did he kiss you?"

I flashed back to that awkward moment. Not that the kiss itself was that bad. Our teeth didn't clash together or anything. But it wasn't exactly spectacular either. It was just a soft pressing of his lips against mine for like five seconds. I think he could sense the non-sparkage too, but he didn't say anything. So I'd just said a hasty goodbye and gone into the house. Real mature, huh? But I didn't feel like sharing that with Cindy, she didn't seem to like him enough as it was.

"Logan was a perfect gentleman," I ended up saying. She let out another scoff.

"Liar."

Sighing, I replied with a playful edge to my voice, "Goodnight OC." Which only made her laugh.

"Night Boo. Sleep tight, don't let the Log-boy come and..."

I hung up the phone before she could finish her sentence. As I let out a low breath, my mind began to drift. Not to the less-than-perfect date with Logan, but to my dreams. I'm not sure why, the images just started an onslaught on my brain. Trying to push them away, I shut my eyes. It only made the picture clearer.

I saw myself running through the woods again. I caught sight of the person I was chasing. Before it had been Alec, and it still appeared to be him. Then in a flash, it was someone else. I kept trying to see his face, but he would only turn his head for brief moments before getting lost in the branches and leaves. When I finally reached him, and he slowly turned to face me, deja vu began to cloud my brain again. I still couldn't tell who he was, but that was only because part of him was still cloaked in shadow. If I just got a little closer...

The sound of the front door slamming shut made my eyes snap open. As footsteps grew closer I realized I was on the floor, sprawled against the couch, when previously I had been on top of it. Giving my head a slight shake, I quickly stood up and reached for my shoulder bag.

"Max?" My mom called from the kitchen. I looked over just as she entered the room. Her dark brown hair had looked elegant in a carefully done-up bun this morning, but apparently the long hours she'd worked at the hospital had not been good to her. A bunch of ringlets were hanging down to her shoulders. She had either changed out of her scrubs in haste or in the dark since some of the buttons on her shirt were buttoned in the wrong spot and the pants she was wearing looked almost like they were on backwards.

"Whoa Mom, what happened?" I asked, allowing myself to forget my latest vision. She gave me sort of dazed look, as if she couldn't quite comprehend what I was asking.

"Mm? Oh, nothing sweetheart. Just had to deal with some...disgruntled patients, that's all," her voice sounded airy, like what she was saying hadn't actually affected her at all.

Yeah, and I was about to be elected Homecoming Queen with all the senior class votes.

Before I could ask anything else, she continued on with the troubles of her day. "And then there was this mix-up in the lab. Some patients' blood tests were labeled incorrectly. A doctor told the wrong person they were going to die." She paused again, and when she spoke, I was surprised to hear her voice waver a little. "Then there was this boy...He'd come in pretty battered. Multiple fractures, wounds, possible concussion...Some of them were so severe, but as the day went on..." Blinking, she stopped talking abruptly and gave me a look that I swore was full of guilt. But in the next second it was gone, replaced by a weary smile. "Sorry sweetie, I know you probably don't want to hear about this stuff."

"It's fine, Mom," I quickly assured her. "Do you want me to get you something? Tea? Gourmet meal?" She chuckled softly.

"No, I think I'm just gonna turn in. I've got to cover another nurse's shift tomorrow, so I have to get up earlier than usual." I asked if she was sure, and she answered with a kiss to my temple and another smile before heading up the stairs to her room.

Even after I heard her door shut, I stood motionlessly in the middle of the living room. There wasn't a single sound in the entire house. Outside I could the cars rushing past-we lived on a busy street after all-but other than that, there was nothing.

When my mom and I were in California, I didn't think much about the fact that when we got back, we'd be living in a much larger place. Now that we're completely settled in, I'm beginning to wonder why my mom chose _this _place. Obviously it's more roomy than the dinky apartment we'd been in before, but we're only two people. I don't think we need _this _much more room. And I'll be moving out in a few years or less anyways. What's my mom supposed to do with the even more extra space? Open a hotel?

Once again I was questioning what really went on at my mother's work. Which makes me sound like a prime candidate for Paranoid Person of the Year, but honestly, what am I supposed to think? Especially with that story about the boy who'd apparently been in some sort of an accident. Did he die or miraculously get better? My mom obviously didn't want to share the result, for whatever reason.

Passing a hand over my eyes, I let out heavy sigh. It wasn't doing me any good to worry about this kind of stuff so I might as well let it go. I glanced at the clock above the fireplace and did a doubletake. It was already ten o'clock and I hadn't even _started_ on my homework!

* * *

Needless to say, Thursday morning, I was dead on my feet. OC and Sketchy noticed and thankfully remembered that when I'm tired, I'm generally not the best person to be around. I didn't even notice that the seat I took when I got on the bus was in front of Alec's.

"Hey Maxie," he greeted me cheerfully. Happy bastard...

I responded with an unintelligible grunt as I leaned my head against the back of the seat. He only stretched his neck closer to hear, instead of picking up on the fact that I was in no mood for chitchat. "Sorry, what was that?"

I cracked one eyelid halfway to look at him. His perfect facial features were contorted in a look of concern. Since when did he care what was wrong with me? Oh right, since we bonded over the cruelness of Vicks.

"You're not tired are you?" he asked softly. Instead of answering, my eyes drifted closed again and I inhaled the smell around me. Along with the usual putridness of public transportation, there was something else. Realizing what it was, my eyes snapped open. He looked almost startled at the change.

"Please tell me that's you who has the coffee," I demanded. His lips stretched into a grin as he held up the heavenly cup. I could practically feel my mouth water. In a surprise turn of events, there had been absolutely _no _coffee in the house this morning.

"Why yes it is, would you like some?" Without waiting for my actual confirmation, he passed the cup over to me. I accepted with a greedy sip. It was still pretty hot and burned my mouth, but I didn't care. I let out a contented sigh and reluctantly passed it back to Alec. He continued to smile. "It's okay, you can keep it. You look like you need it more than I do."

"Thanks," I said simply after I took another fiery gulp. "I can feel the caffeine working already."

"If you don't mind my asking, why exactly are you so out of it? When did you go to bed?" I rolled my eyes.

"What are you, my mother?" I retorted, but my tone didn't possess any malice, so Alec took no offense. "I just got in late, and I worked well into the morning on my homework. Something for each class."

His jaw slid from left to right, contemplating what to say next. If I had remembered how he'd acted the day before, I might've been more prepared for what came out of his mouth. "Date with Logan go well?" I nearly choked on the coffee. His voice sounded carefully restrained and overly polite. His green eyes were glinting with something far more complex.

"Fine," I managed to get out just as the bus reached the school. "It went fine." I picked up my bag and quickly headed up the aisle before he could comment.

Original Cindy and Sketchy were waiting with slightly wary expressions on their faces when I got off the bus. But they must've noticed a change in my alertness since they looked less likely to head for the hills if I appeared to be on the verge of snapping someone's head off. Then their eyes simultaneously fixed on a spot behind my shoulder. I turned to see Alec walk off the steps and give me an almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgment as he continued into the school.

"See you in English."

I managed a weak smile in response, but he was already squeezing past hordes of people so I just turned back to my friends.

"Looks like you were able to get a hold of some much needed caffeine," Sketchy commented. "No more Zombie Max."

"Yeah, thanks to Alec," I replied, trying to keep my thoughts organized. But of course they continued their recent aggravating routine of straying. I felt my body slowly began to lean to one side. I wasn't collapsing, was I? I thought the caffeine was supposed to make me more awake, not speed up exhaustion. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my head. A dull throbbing pain was beginning to develop behind my eyeballs and my mouth got all fuzzy. I tried to swallow a few times, but it didn't seem to help.

I glanced at Cindy and Sketchy and my stomach tightened at the horrified looks on their faces. What were they seeing? I staggered back a few steps to lean against the brick wall of the school. It was sturdy and cool to the touch. I started to count back from 100 slowly, waiting for this sudden nausea-type feeling to disappear. I only got to 96 before a faint prickling sensation began to slither up my body. It was similar to that deju vu thing I figured I'd been going through, but also somehow incredibly different.

I felt like every single sense was being stretched to their limits. Everything around me suddenly looked like they'd been stuck under a huge microscope, enhancing every single color to its full potential. I could literally feel the cracks in the brick wall behind me, every tendril of grass brushing against my ankles, and every breath of wind felt like a silky brush of something far more dense than just air. I was picking up conversations that were nowhere near me. Someone was anxious for a math test they'd stayed up all night studying for. Another was complaining how their parents wouldn't stop fighting over the abundance of animals in the house. Then another that sounded much too old to be a high school student started ranting about a broken faucet.

In attempt to block the sounds out, I quickly slapped my hands over my ears but it didn't help. For the life of me, I couldn't comprehend what was going on. I looked around wildly, hardly seeing anything, yet everything. Unprovoked, they decided to fix on one of the houses across the street. In front of it was a huge pine tree. The branches were twisted and tangled, ranging from small to huge, thin to wide. A whimper escaped from my mouth because clear as day I could see a orange tabby cat sitting in a nest of branches about twenty feet from the ground, staring intently at a squirrel. I could freakin' smell the pine needles! Then my eyes miraculously did a 'zoom lense' thing and it was as if the cat was right in front of me.

Then I knew. I was officially bonkers.

With that new revelation, I blacked out.

* * *

"How many times do I have to tell you? No, I have no idea what happened."

"Anything that you can tell me would be very helpful because as of now, all I can say is it was probably caused by extreme exhaustion and/or stress. Teenagers collapsing is more common than you may think."

"Are convulsing teenagers even more common, _nurse_?"

There was a beat of indignant silence as I struggled to open my eyes. I recognized Cindy's voice and the school nurse's, though I couldn't remember her name. Somehow I knew there was more than just the two of them. And they weren't in the same room as me either.

Gritting my teeth in mild frustration, I managed to crack my eyelids open a fraction of an inch, then immediately shut them when a flood of bright light assaulted them. A groan escaped my lips before I could squelch it.

"Fine, when do you think she'll be awake?" Another voice asked, which I immediately recognized as my mother's. Oh crap.

"I'm not sure, but as Miss Mceachin and Mr. Theodore can surely testify to, if you don't believe me, is that she's been out already for about three hours," the nurse replied testily.

Double crap. I'd missed math and half of world studies.

"Can we try to wake her up? Like slap her or dump ice water on her?" Sketchy spoke up. Judging by the awkward silence that followed his suggestion, the others were giving him looks of disbelief. "Or not."

Slowly, I tried to open my eyes again and thankfully it was less painful. Everything was still inhumanly enhanced, though. Swallowing nervously, I reluctantly eased myself into a sitting position, taking stock of the room I was in. I was currently on one of those hideous cot things that underfunded schools are forced to have with that noisy 'sanitary' paper that makes crackly sounds whenever you move a finger. They're like a toned-down version of alarm clocks.

The walls were a faded blue with barely visible flowers, standing as a testament to just how old this school was. There were a few cupboards with built-in faucets and some medical supplies. Hopefully those were more up-to-date than the structure of the actual room or God help us, the students at Lakewood High would be in a shitload of trouble.

"Well, I at least want to go check on her," I heard my mom say seconds before the door handle began twist. I watched in fascination as I heard each little gear slide into place before it finally clicked and released. The door creaked open and I locked eyes with my mother. Surprise flitted across her features before relief quickly took over. Behind her were Sketchy, OC, and the nurse.

I didn't feel my expression change in the slightest. My entire body was numb.

"Thank God," Cindy exclaimed in a exhale of breath. "How long have you been awake?"

Blinking a few times, I wetted my suddenly chapped lips with my tongue. Flexing my fingers, I ignored the crackling noise they evoked from the cot. Biding time, I realized.

Why? It was a simple question. Why did I feel the need for a guard, shield, anything for protection. Something didn't feel right. Everything was wrong. Why did I feel so unsafe with these people in the room? They were my closest friends and my mother. The nurse I couldn't care less about, and the way her gaze was alternating between her watch and her office that probably held a lunch or tacky magazine she was just dying to dig into, I guessed her feelings towards me weren't that different. Was it her? Doubtful.

Examining each of their faces, I realized they were still waiting for me to say something. Still feeling insecure, I gently rubbed the back of my scalp. A number popped into my head unwarranted.

127.

It was the number of hairs I currently had my hand over.

My eyes nearly bugged out. That _couldn't _be normal.

"Max? Honey? Are you alright?" My mom's voice broke through, shattering the beginnings of another panic attack. If that's really what it was. I opened my mouth to respond but quickly shut it when I felt another presence nearing the door. What really freaked me out was the fact that I knew who it was before he even came into full view.

"Alec," I muttered tonelessly. Everyone turned to look as the new subject leaned casually against the doorway. His green eyes were carefully blank but he gave me a small smile as he crossed one leg over the other and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Hey Maxie," his voice sounded gentle and even a few octaves lower than usual. My head cocked to the side completely by itself. An image of puppy just hearing its name called passed through my mind before I quickly shunned it. It wouldn't exactly help me any. "Heard you had a little trouble this morning, but I couldn't get away 'til now. How are you feeling?"

Without answering, I continued to watch him expressionlessly. I saw a muscle twitch in his face. I was making him uncomfortable. A smirk cracked it's way onto my face.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" My mom was looking at Alec as well. His gaze shifted from mine to hers before answering. Even though his eyes still gave nothing away, I could've written a whole book on my mother's expression.

"My name's Alec McDowell."

It was probably the exact same one that I had worn when I'd first, supposedly, seen him. When locking eyes with him sent those first strange tingles throughout my body. The sensation that I had come to realize was deja vu.

She didn't have to ask for his name. My mother knew _exactly_ who the guy standing in the doorway was.

**A/N-Once again, hope you enjoyed it ;o) I'm very very sorry for the long wait but I just started my junior year and it is _hell. _Get ready for some more twists! And don't forget to review, review, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

With this new knowledge, I felt my jaw tighten in response. My mom had been lying to me. Exactly what about, I still had no idea. This was fast becoming a trend in my life. I kept figuring little things out that make other parts of this crazy-ass puzzle appear to almost be solved, but the eureka moments only last for so long before cold hard reality sets in. I'm not even close to being finished.

And that was starting to piss me off.

"Max?" Sketchy's concerned voice broke through my reverie. I glanced over at his and Original Cindy's expressions. They matched his tone. They were looking at me like I was some fragile little head-case, on the verge of rattling off nonsense til I got locked up in a blinding white room with sound-proofed cushions on the walls so my words won't get through. Who knows, maybe I was. But personally I think that seemed a tad extreme.

"I'm fine," I replied abruptly. They flinched at my sudden vocal usage. I would have laughed if I hadn't been feeling particularly pissy and betrayed. I stood up from my seat on the cot and smoothed out some wrinkles in my shirt. Ignoring the five pairs of eyes on me, I let my own skirt over the room again. I didn't see my bag. Maybe it was under the cot.

Without a word, I dropped to my knees and looked under it. Bingo. I wrapped my hand around the leather strap and tugged it towards me before standing up again and facing the others, who were all still watching me with strange expressions on their faces. I cocked an eyebrow in question.

"You're not planning on going to class are you?" my mother asked, looking as if the idea was about as sane as gleefully hitting two beehives together would be. I didn't respond at first, choosing to gauge her body language. One hand on the hip, legs about a foot and a half apart. She was prepared to block my path if she thought I was leaving, which is what I planned on doing.

"Why not? I feel fine. It'd be a real pain in the ass if I had to make up more than just whatever I missed in math," I said matter-of-factly. OC looked at me as if I just said I planned to dance around naked in the cafeteria.

"Max. This is serious. Way worse than the last time. You were out for much longer than a couple of minutes. And don't try to pull that 'not enough nutrition' crap again. If that were the case you wouldn't have lied to us about telling your mom. You need help, Max."

I smiled sardonically. "I'm fine, Cindy. You're right, it's not a malnutrition thing. But I don't need help. Trust me, it won't happen again." And the Easter Bunny holds the cure for cancer. Christ, I didn't know what was happening to me. There was no way I could know if I'd ever get another seizure. Asking them to trust me after everything was like telling a cat to go fetch a stick. I did need help, but I really doubted they were the ones to do it.

No one said anything for a beat so I just hoisted my bag over my head and headed for the door. But Alec was blocking it. I looked up at him, slightly disbelieving. I couldn't read what was going through his head.

"You can't be serious Max!" my mom cried, turning to the nurse. "You're the school nurse, _do something_!" The woman could only shrug helplessly and I saw her eyes flit to her office door again.

"There's only so much control that I have. _You're _her mother," she countered testily. My mom looked like she wanted to slap her but probably saw the truth in her statement as well.

"Max. There are tests we need to run to figure out what's wrong with you," she said, her voice verging on desperate. I whirled around to glare at her and was satisfied to see her step back in surprise.

"There is _nothing_ wrong with me," I growled vehemently.

Liar, liar pants on fire.

I turned back to Alec, who was still standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, looking like he had no intention of letting me get by.

"Listen to your mom, Max. She knows what she's talking about," he said, his voice still sounding softer than usual. My eyes narrowed into little slits. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way," I snapped. He still didn't budge. My patience broke. "Move now or you'll regret it." A beat passed of pure, tense silence and the stupid bugger still didn't so much as lift a finger. "Fine." I moved a little to the left, crossed my arms against my chest and slammed into him. He stumbled back into the opposite wall a few feet away.

"Max!"

Time almost seemed to stand still for a moment when he and I both blinked in surprise. Neither of us had expected me to hit him that hard.

"Told you." My voice came out breathy and not at all indignant, which is what I had been shooting for. He slowly straightened himself but made no move to renew his human-blockade impersonation. Then I ran.

Melodramatic and childish on pretty high levels but I couldn't think of anything else to do. My mind kept screaming at me to retreat. So I did.

God forbid I ignore the thing that got me into this whole stupid mess.

The ruckus that I'd caused had attracted some attention. A little crowd of staff members had begun to gather outside the nurse's office. I pushed past them and ran for the exit. The first gust of fresh air felt exhilarating. I hadn't even noticed how stuffy it had gotten inside. So much for my newly heightened senses, or whatever the hell it was.

But now that I was out, I didn't really know where to go. Originally I had planned on going to my class, but that kinda seemed like a moot point after I body-slammed Alec into a wall. I never was the best at thinking things through.

I felt a single drop of wetness hit my nose and quickly slide off. It startled me enough to stop running and check out my surroundings. I'd gone farther than I had intended. Stretching in front of me in all its glorious greenness and chockablock full of bark and leaves was the frequent setting of my nightmarish dreams. The forest.

Staring at it, I tried to ignore the blender of emotions splashing around in my body. It seemed no more ominous than it had ten years ago when my mom and I had first moved to Seattle. Yet it still caused some sort of reaction in me. Right now it felt more like curiosity than anything else. I wanted to know why the hell all of this was happening to me. And for some odd reason, I felt these woods were connected.

Another couple of drops connected with various parts of my body and began to soak into my clothes, one by one. I slowly raised my face to the sky and immediately got one directly in my eye. The frequency of the rainfall was speeding up.

My house was only a few blocks away, but at the moment that seemed irrelevant. I took a single step toward the forest when I suddenly picked up on the fact that I wasn't alone. A quick look over my shoulder showed that the reason for this was that Alec had followed me.

"Max."

He was thirty yards away and the growing roar of the rain should have made it difficult for me to hear him say my name, especially since he hadn't even shouted. But I heard it as clear as if he were whispering it in my ear. A spasm of anger slashed through me. I didn't try to identify the reason for it.

Without responding, I sprinted into the woods. The sound of an extra pair of shoes pounding against the dirty pathways told me Alec was following. I could hear every crunch of the dead leaves that our feet broke through and every dull thunk that signified a kicked pebble. The trees were so close together, it made it nearly impossible for the rain to fall through, but every once in a while we would cross a small clearing that allowed us a few seconds of becoming drenched. Their proximity also slightly hindered our running, especially since we had long since gone off the designated trail. This made things more difficult, but on some level I was also finding it much more entertaining.

This was the part of me that always laughed when my mom narrowly misses colliding with other cars when she's driving, so I didn't pay much attention to its credibility.

I had no idea where I was going and the farther into the woods we went, the more I was beginning to realize the similarities between this and my dream. A couple of the few differences were the abundance of noise and color as opposed to nothing, the rain, and the fact that Alec was chasing me and not the other way around. Even the wind was picking up. Not enough to start sending me backwards, but enough for me to feel like something was whipping my body, at least attempting to stop my progress.

Then I noticed that ahead of me some of the trees were even closer than usual. Their branches were practically entwined and their trunks looked melded together, creating the allusion of a 500 foot wide tree. There was only one solution that came to mind. As soon as I was close enough, I jumped up to grab a branch that was about ten feet off the ground and was able to hoist myself up with frightening ease.

I allowed myself a millisecond of shocked amazement before quickly grabbing hold of the nearest branch and proceeded to climb the tree, trying to go as fast as possible without falling to my death. Despite telling myself repeatedly not to look down, I snuck one glance when I was about 30 feet off the ground. Alec had been staring at me with a strangely amused expression on his face and he wasn't making any move to follow me up the trees. I couldn't resist a taunt.

"Come on, don't tell me you're afraid of heights. How will I ever prove I can kick your ass if you can't even meet my level of expectations?"

The corners of his mouth quirked into a challenging smirk and he immediately launched himself up towards a branch. I was still pretty high up so I couldn't quite gauge the distance that he had just cleared, but somewhere in the back of my mind was the knowledge that it wasn't exactly in the range of what an average human being should be capable of. For the moment, I chose to ignore that part of my brain and once again concentrated on climbing and weaving through the trees, trying to get through to the next clearing.

It took longer than I expected and yet the presence of my muscles was shown only through slightly dull aches in my arms and legs. I took a moment to examine the area, wanting to make sure I didn't jump into a river or giant pit.

It was much larger than the little mini clearings that Alec and I had passed through. The trees around it seemed to form a loose circle around it. The ones on the opposite side of us were much less close, though the end of the forest could still not be seen, which wasn't very surprising. The rain was still rushing down as if it's entire purpose was only to smack into the ground and either get absorbed by the soil or form a puddle. Either way, it was succeeding with alarming rate.

I glanced around me to check on Alec's progress. He wasn't that far behind me and was weaving around the trees with much more grace than I had probably shown. His face wasn't pinched with concentration either. He looked like he did this sort of thing all the time. And who knows, maybe he did. I turned my gaze back to the ground, it was a quite a ways down. I was trying to decide at which point would be safe for me to just jump when I felt a sudden impact against my back and I was catapulted out of the trees.

The fall lasted only a few seconds. I kept my legs unlocked and attempted to move into a roll when I hit the ground, which was made slightly difficult with the fact that Alec had his arms around me. We landed hard and I felt all the bones in my body grind together, but nothing broke. We rolled a few feet and came to a stop against a bush with our limbs entangled and Alec on top of me.

I blinked a few times as I suppressed the shock that had overwhelmed me when he had first hurled us into the air. Now not only was I soaking wet, but covered in mud. My shock was fast turning into anger as I heard and felt his breath against my ear. I turned my head so the rain would stop assaulting my eyes and tried to wrench my arms free so I could wallop him in the kidney or someplace more sensitive. My success was short-lived when he suddenly gripped my wrists and pinned them on either side of my head.

He was looking down at me, but I couldn't read his expression without the rainfall interfering. I let out a grunt of annoyance and began to work on getting my legs free instead. He cried out in surprise when I managed to get one out from under him and then twist it enough to then knee him in the chest. He was pushed backwards and lost grip of my wrists. Landing in a puddle, he swore very colorfully before quickly knocking my feet out from under me just after I had gotten up.

I went down and got a face full of mud. I slowly lifted my head to give him the full effect of my glare. "You stupid little..."

He actually looked a little wary before I tackled him. We grappled around for a bit, each of us trying to come out on top and beefing up our insult vocabulary all the while, when he suddenly grabbed my shoulders, put his foot to my chest and flipped both of us over. With him on top. Again.

I wriggled around some, trying to break free when I felt him start to laugh. "Why are you doing this Maxie? You can't beat me. You haven't had any proper training." I risked looking up at him and didn't even care when the rain pelted my face. He was pissing me off and confusing me. His arrogance made me want to throttle him and the sudden mention of 'training' made me want to either simply ask questions or torture him for information. Currently, the latter was looking very appealing.

But I didn't even know why I was trying to fight him. Obviously I had no 'training'. Who the hell did he think I was? The Karate Kid?

"Get off me," I growled. The resulting smirk was infuriating.

"Make me."

Another spasm of anger shot through me, similar to the one that had caused me to rush into the woods in the first place, but much stronger. I wrenched my arms free from his grasp and shoved him off me with as much strength I could muster. He flew and landed in the mud with a loud splat, skidding to a stop in front of one of the many trees.

Groaning, he slowly got into a sitting position, swiped mud off his face and stared at me in mild surprise. Though my inner feelings mirrored his, I forced my expression to remain blank as I stared back.

"Just like old times," he muttered under his breath, so soft even I, with my newfound enhanced hearing, could barely understand him. My eyebrows furrowed together.

"Excuse me?" I snapped. He briefly averted his gaze.

"Nothing." I felt my eyes narrow into little slits.

"Don't lie. I heard you say something. What do you mean 'just like old times'? What the hell is going on?!" My voice had steadily reached near-shrieking volume. Alec looked slightly alarmed, but didn't respond. I almost took a breath to calm myself, but instantly thought better of it. I was tired of being in the dark. I wanted answers.

"Why do I feel like I've known you for much longer than just a couple months? Why does my mother seem to know you as well? Why am I dreaming of chasing you through this forest in black and white without any sound? Why am I dreaming about some sort of hospital where time speeds up and slows down quicker than humanly possible? For that matter, why were you able to _jump_ higher than humanly possible? Or why does everything look a hundred times clearer than it should? Am I really having seizures every time I black out? How can I be able to see a cat and a squirrel that is at least a zillion yards away from me? Why don't I feel tired after this stupid excursion we just went on? WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?!"

With each word that I spoke I had taken a step closer to him until I was staring up at him and yelling in his face. He had backed up into a tree and was looking very horrified. Just the reaction I was looking for.

Not.

"This wasn't how this was supposed to turn out," he mumbled. A low growl rumbled in the back of my throat and my hands shot out, clenching big wads of his shirt in my muddy hands.

"How was this _supposed _to turn out?" I hissed. He swallowed visibly before suddenly steeling his features. He brought his hands up to mine. Suspecting that he was going to try and free himself, I tightened my grip. But he just enclosed my hands in his and stared at me very intently. Now it was my turn to swallow.

"I can't explain everything right now. It's too soon. If you..."

"What's wrong with right now? You can't get much more private than in the middle of the woods. And what the hell do you mean 'it's too soon'? Like hell it is!"

"If you could please just trust me," Alec continued after I interrupted. I let out a scoff of disbelief. "You _will_ get the answers you're looking for. But I can't give them to you just yet."

"Why not?"

He laughed softly and brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek. The gesture was so sudden and gentle, I nearly forgot what we were talking about. Then his hands were back on mine and I finally relinquished his shirt. But he didn't let go of me.

"I promise. You'll get answers." His trademark smirk appeared. "Sooner than you think."

"But not soon enough." The smirk widened. Slowly shaking my head, I pulled my hands away from his and backed up. He watched me cautiously and the muscles in his jaw twitched. "Why are you doing this to me?" Impatience began to show on his face and he opened his mouth to respond. "Don't. It was rhetorical. I know you won't tell me. 'It's too soon', right?" He cocked an eyebrow at my mimicking and kept silent.

I took one more look around the clearing, allowing the rain to wash off as much mud as it could, not caring that I probably resembled a drowned cat. Then I took a deep breath and met Alec's eyes with a defiant glare.

"If you won't help me, I'll find someone who can."

With that, I trudged back to some of the branches and proceeded to climb them. It took longer than it had before to get past them, probably because I didn't care if I was being followed and therefore wasn't hurrying. Once my feet landed solidly on the ground, I didn't have to look back or focus my hearing to know that Alec wasn't behind me. He'd gone a different way.

* * *

The last time I had run out on my mom had been when she decided to sell a bunch of our things in order to scrounge some extra money up. One of those things had been a large stuffed monkey that I had won at a carnival a couple years before. It was won through a great show of ring-tossing ability and therefore, very precious to me. I hated her for selling it and had run out of the house as soon as the little piece of tape that read '10 dollars' was stuck to his big monkey nose.

Somehow, I knew the punishment for my running this time would be far more severe than just writing an apology to the family whose house I had attempted to break into after they bought my monkey.

Taking a deep breath, I reached for the handle to the front door of our house. At the exact moment that my fingers brushed the metal, the door was flung open and I was yanked inside and crushed against the wall of someone's chest. Distinctly muscular arms were wrapped around my body, holding me tight as if they were afraid I'd slip away at any moment.

"Christ, Maxie. Don't run off like that again." I recognized Zack's voice instantly and nearly melted with relief. I was suddenly feeling very exhausted.

"I'm fine, Zack. I just needed...some space," I replied, trying to detach myself from him. He pulled back and cradled my face in his hands, his blue eyes scanning over every feature. I couldn't tell if he was searching for injuries or trying to tell if I was lying. Whatever his intentions, his intensity was kinda scary. Laughing nervously, I gently took his hands away from my face. "What are you doing here anyways? Where's my mom?"

He blinked a few times at my questions and then his eyes widened slightly, as if they reminded him of something. He nodded towards the stairs behind him and said, "She'll be down in a minute. She was going to call the police, but I insisted that was a little overkill. So she settled for calling everyone that you know and might be with."

I swallowed guiltily. Even though I knew she was keeping something from me, she was still my mother. And I hated making my mother worry so much. Guilt did nothing for my complexion.

"Max?" I looked up as my mom came thundering down the stairs, relief written all over her face before I was crushed into yet another hug. "Oh thank god! We were so worried!"

I glanced at Zack over my mom's shoulder and saw that he was smiling. But the smile froze on his face when he finally seemed to notice my appearance in its entirety. Then his eyes locked onto mine and they did not look happy.

"What happened?" he interrupted my mom's continuous exclamations of worry to ask. She immediately pulled away to look at me at arms-length.

"My god, Max. You're filthy. And soaking wet." Then she looked down at herself and Zack. Both of them had hugged me so the front of their clothes were smudged with dirt and obviously wet. Oops.

"It's raining outside," I informed them unnecessarily. Neither showed any sort of reaction to my statement. "When I left the school after..." I cleared my throat, but refused to look away from my mom. If I was gonna do this, I had to make it as convincing as possible, which meant revealing part of the truth. "After...what happened, I needed some space. I made it to the woods near here just as it started raining." Out of the corner of my eye I saw something flicker across Zack's face. Before I could even attempt to decipher it, it was gone. "I decided to walk around a bit, since it was just so open and...quiet. Peaceful. Except for the occasional clearing where the rain could get through and every once in a while I tripped over some tree roots." I gestured vaguely at the mud smothering my clothes and skin.

I glanced at Zack, but he was watching me with the same wariness and intensity that my mom was. Nothing special. Now for the big bombshell, the thing I was most dreading to voice. But a certain someone had left me no choice.

"Mom," I drew a deep breath before continuing and I could tell the pause scared them both. "I know something's wrong with me. And I hope you can forgive my behavior from earlier.

I know you guys were just worried about me, which is fully justified." Now they both looked downright terrified, for reasons I could only guess. "I want to go to the hospital and have...tests...done." My entire body inwardly convulsed, but I had to go through with it. My mom let out a sound halfway between a gasp and a scream, which was just oh so encouraging.

"Honey..." she began, and the tremor in her voice was doing nothing to settle my nerves. I was still convinced she knew somewhat about my true situation and I really wished she could just shed a huge light on it. I had no such luck. "I-If that's what you think...I mean...I don't quite know what to..." Her voice trailed off as she squeezed her eyes shut. Whatever she was thinking about was obviously causing her pain.

Swallowing a huge lump in my throat, I made a move towards the kitchen, where the phone was. Zack's voice stopped me.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, his tone was soft and almost flat, but his eyes were wide with something akin to desperate eagerness. "Aren't there some things that maybe you're...better off not knowing?" A chill tingled the entire length of my spine. I was suddenly wishing that one of my newfound abilities included mind reading.

"Yes, I want to do this," I barely whispered, forcing my legs to move again. He nodded once and the intensity of his gaze kicked up a notch.

He was trying to tell me something. I knew that much. But either he was holding back simply because of my mom's presence or it was something much more complicated. Part of me knew I should care. But suddenly everyone in my life seemed to be keeping secrets and I wasn't doing too well in getting them to reveal what was going on. What was one more person?

I closed my fingers firmly over the phone, afraid the slightest bit of weakness would ruin everything. About ten minutes later I had managed to get an immediate appointment that would undoubtably take quite a few hours. Guess having your mom work at a hospital can be more beneficial than just having the basic knowledge of what to do when you get a little scrape or break a leg.

After I had hung up, I let my hand rest on the phone for a few beats, hoping against hope that I wasn't doing something that was incredibly stupid. But what other choice did I have? I was tired of being in the dark. I _needed_ to know what was happening to me. If that meant temporarily turning myself into a lab rat, so be it. At least I would have answers.

**A/N-Alrighty, getting a little closer to the truth...hehe. I'm oh so very sorry it's taken me this long to update, but once again I'm playing the blame game with school...If you ever want to take AP Chemistry I advise thinking it through first. A lot. Keep reviewing please!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The tests took even longer than I expected. I'd been poked, prodded, and sent through so many different machines I wouldn't be too surprised if I suddenly became a radioactive pincushion. And the best part was my mom poking her head in every half hour or so trying to convince me that I didn't _really_ need to be doing this.

Yeah. It really helped speed the process along.

I also had a lot of blood drawn so I felt just the tiniest bit woozy. But not like the omigod-I'm-gonna-collapse-at-any-second kinda woozy. More of the just-got-off-a-rollercoaster kinda woozy. My mom all but begged me to stay home from school. She even pointed out a few times that since it was my eighteenth birthday, it was actually expected that I do something a little out of the ordinary. But as I had just spent all of the night and most of the morning dealing with the abnormal, I decided a little normalcy like high school would do me some good. Plus I felt completely wide awake, like I had just drunken a galleon of coffee, only without the jittery side effect.

I gladly skipped PE and Metals though, for obvious reasons. So I basically just came right at lunch time and would only have to deal with one class. Chemistry. And then of course I had to report to Vicks after school and do my impression of a garbage lady.

But there was one very important thing that seemed to have slipped my mind. And it bashed itself right back in with the force of a bulldozer. I should've known that my little episode from yesterday would spread through the school faster than the news of Anna Nicole's death. And that's saying something. Trust me.

When the first hundred pairs of eyes locked on to me and the little hissy whispers behind cupped hands reached my ears, I knew I had made a mistake. There was absolutely no way that my high school experience could ever be construed as 'normal' ever again. I might as well have been wearing one of those big board signs with the flashy lights that spelled out 'Freak of nature! Will have unexpected seizure for no apparent reason!'

Ignoring them wasn't even an option thanks to my newly heightened hearing, which had been proven at the hospital by an awkward young girl standing two rooms away, muttering things barely above a whispery breath, all of which I could make out pretty damn well. So all I could do was hurry through the halls after checking in at the attendance office, where I got an extremely rude goggly-eye from the woman behind the desk, and out to the field where I prayed Cindy and Sketchy would be.

They were. But when I saw them, I felt just the slightest lick of doubt that they would want me there. It was like looking through a window to my old life. Sketchy was trying to impress OC by throwing multiple peanuts in the air and catching them all at once, which was futile of course as OC just commented on the fact that he was liable to simply choke on them.

See, Sketchy choking on tiny salted foods is much more regular than having cat-like reflexes, which was another little tidbit my doctor informed me of earlier that day.

Before I could listen to the little voice in my head that was listing all the possible ways OC and Sketchy could shun me, their gazes locked onto mine and there wasn't even the slightest hint of hesitation as they waved me over. The relief was monumental.

"Hi guys," I said, plopping down in my usual spot between them. Sketchy gave me his typical lopsided grin while Cindy ruffled my hair a little.

"Hey boo. Good to see ya."

"Yeah. Happy birthday! How are you feeling? Everything uh...in tip top shape?" Sketchy asked, quirking a single eyebrow at me. The tiniest little knot the size of an acorn suddenly sprouted in my stomach. As bad as it made me feel, I couldn't tell them the complete results of my tests. I didn't even _have_ all of them yet, but from what I had already learned, I didn't think they could possibly mean anything good.

Giving them what I hoped was an encouraging smile and spreading my arms in a wide gesture, I replied, "Yeah. Everything's fine. Picture perfect health." Which was far truer than I thought was even possible...

They seemed to believe me and Cindy opened her mouth to say something when her eyes suddenly narrowed at a point over my shoulder. As I turned my head to look I self-consciously did that stupid zoom-lense thing again and noted that Alec was just coming out of the 100s building, which was all the way across the campus. The fact that this only took me a split second to realize irked me enough to allow a scowl onto my face, which only deepened as I saw what OC had obviously been bothered by. Jared Diffon and some of his equally asshole-ish buddies were making their way towards us. Choosing to believe it had nothing to do with me, the latest in my plethora of mistakes, I turned back around to focus my attention on my lunch.

"What? Now you don't even have to face someone to have a conversation? Or do you actually have eyes on the back of your head now?" I heard some of the boys with Jared snicker loudly and my eyebrows furrowed. I half turned around again, not quite giving him my full attention.

"I'm sorry, was that supposed to be an insult?" I asked tonelessly. Cindy and Sketchy shifted uncomfortably and I knew they were trying to tell me nonverbally to leave the situation alone. Which only made my sudden irritation spark faster. I stood up and faced him with my arms crossed over my chest. "Or was that just a tactless way of commenting on what happened yesterday?"

"You mean when you proved to everyone that you really do belong in a padded cell? Or maybe the circus. People have always liked the human lab rat exhibition." My upper lip curled back into a sneer.

"Well I wouldn't want to take the spotlight away from you." He glared at me and took a single menacing step closer. I watched this with little interest.

"Thoughtful. But the kind of show you could provide would entertain people so much more." I gave him a look of faux-sympathy, trying to ignore the feeling that something was very wrong.

_He doesn't know anything_, I told myself, but the paranoia was beginning to seep through, blocking out everything else.

"Don't sell yourself short. Bang some cymbals together and they might just take you for the performing monkey that you really are." I saw a muscle twitch uncontrollably in his jaw and smirked. Then he laughed and I felt like something was crawling inside me. It was like a less-than cold shiver, traveling through every part of my body trying to find a way out. I felt hot and itchy and knew that if this jerk said one more thing to try my patience, I was gonna scratch.

"You really are a psychotic bitch. Though I guess I can't see how you could turn out any different after your drunken father realized his love for gin was worth more than five of you and your mother's so ashamed she decided she'd rather watch people die for a living instead of teaching her daughter that hanging out with a dyke and a stoner idiot is a sure ticket to hell," he spat.

He had barely finished spitting out this ignorant filth before a second later I landed a solid right hook to his face and watched, seething, as his head snapped backwards and he crumpled to the ground with a scream of pain. I launched myself at him, preparing to beat the bastard to a bloody pulp when I felt something as hard as steel slam into my stomach. Barely registering this, I continued to flail around, shouting profanities as Jared's cronies chose to keep a safe distance from me instead of helping their friend up. My leg connected with something just as hard as what had stopped my progress at attacking Jared and the sound of the responding wince was the only thing that made me freeze up.

Blinking and looking down, I finally realized that that steel thing was actually just an arm. My eyes followed it up from the distinctly masculine hand that was on my hip, the creamy mocha-colored skin that covered a perfectly formed bicep, all the way to the body it was connected to. Which led my gaze straight to a very familiar green-eyed one that was currently a little squinty with pain, probably due to the kick I had just landed on his shin. That was when the full reality of the fact that I was flush against Alec's body completely sank in. Before I could analyze my embarrassment enough to figure out if I was pleased or mortified, the reason behind Alec's arm restraining me crashed back into my brain when I saw the look on Jared's face.

He was still on the ground and he was holding a hand to his bleeding lip, staring at me as if I had just suggested he take a stroll through a loaded minefield at night. Which I may as well have as the last words he had spoken relayed themselves in my mind for the millionth time. Then he slowly stood up, with a slight stagger I was pleased to see, and opened his mouth.

"You-"

I never got to hear what he had to say to me, which was only a little disappointing because I wanted another reason to kick his ass, due to the fact that another voice very close to my ear interrupted him in a tone that left nothing to the imagination.

"You say one more word and she'll have another pair of hands to help finish the job." Jared glanced once at Alec, apparently decided to take his word for it, and immediately stalked off, followed closely by his 'support team'.

A little crowd had gathered during the whole thing, but seeing that it was all over, it began to disperse. Though I did hear a couple people shout approval for the splitting of Jared's face. But I wasn't paying attention. My focus point was still on the proximity of Alec's body. He still hadn't let go and I could feel the warmth from his body seeping into mine. I could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest against my back. I could feel his breath tickling my ear. And if I turned my head just the slightest bit to the right I'd be able to feel more than that...

With the same shocking jolt that that thought had brought, so did the sudden absence of Alec's body as I found myself whirled around to face a very angry Original Cindy.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded, keeping a firm grip on my arm. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep that temper in check? You get provoked too easily!" I blinked a couple times and frowned at her, half expecting her facial expression to switch from furious to ecstatic once my lashes stopped obscuring my vision. It didn't.

"What are you talking about?" I retorted, feeling my frustration creeping back. "That scumper-butt just insulted my family. I was sticking up for you. You would do the same. Why are you..." OC let out a groan of exasperation.

"You're already in trouble with the school. Do you really wanna dig yourself in deeper?" I slid my jaw left to right, contemplating how much I should show that I knew how truthful her words were. Deciding against further argument, I mutely shook my head. To my surprise, her face immediately split into a wide grin. "Good. Now that's outta the way, good job suga. Next time let me at him some." Her eyes darkened with a malevolent glint. "That prick deserves worse than a simple beating."

"My heart warms at the thought," Sketchy commented, his eyes mirroring Cindy's. Then he turned to Alec and held out a fist for him to bump, which he did. "Thanks for holding Max back, man. You got here just in time. I don't think me and OC would've been able to restrain her and she definitely doesn't need any more bad uh..._publicity_." He gave Alec a meaningful look with both eyebrows raised. I would have given him a warning slap upside the head, which OC gladly took care of, if what he had just said didn't make my insides freeze up all over again.

How _did_ Alec get over here so fast? He was all the way across the campus only about a minute before my fist had connected with Jared's face. I glanced at him to see if he noticed my reaction. He was wearing his usual cocky smirk.

"Glad I could be of service," he replied, his eyes steadily roaming all over my face with intense scrutiny that was apparently obvious only to me. There was something strange about it, like he wasn't only curious, he was...pitying me. I took great care in keeping my face completely blank while I inwardly racked through possible scenarios in my brain for why he could even _think_ about feeling sorry for me. There was no way in hell I wanted him to figure out my emotional hurricane. If he knew how close I had been to...

Unable to suppress a shudder, I turned my back on him and sat back down, prepared to immerse myself in my lunch. He seemed to take the hint.

"Well, guess I'll be off. See you in Chem later, Maxie. Sketch," he said. I refused to look at him and so settled for a mumbled agreement. I heard his footsteps begin to move away when he suddenly stopped. "Oh, and Max?" My eyes unwillingly met his, wariness making my whole body stiff. Did that strange look have something to do with what happened in the forest yesterday? He gave me that rare, genuine smile that made my heartstrings twang a little. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," I replied, my voice leaning more towards the soft side, I was horrified to hear. He nodded once then continued on his way across the field. Watching him go and attempting to unclench my teeth became so contradictory, I decided to immerse myself in my lunch once again and start a distracting conversation with my friends. There would be time for obsessing over what Alec was trying to hide from me later. Maybe I'd finally be able to weasel it out of him in detention.

* * *

Chemistry went by faster than usual. But that wasn't the strangest thing. The thing that was really tipping my world off its axis? Yeah, that would be the fact that I actually understood everything that Ms. Seri said. And I mean _everything_. From the relation between bond length and electronegativity to polarity and solubility. It just clicked. But what makes it even weirder is that I was barely paying attention. My mind was completely _not _on chemistry and somehow I managed to get all the notes down and get every practice problem right. So what the hell does that mean?

Not that I had time to really ponder it. As soon as the bell rang, Sketchy disappeared saying-not very convincingly-that he had a lot of homework to do and he had to help his mom with something at home, and I was left with Alec to head over to Vicks' classroom.

He tried a couple of times to make small talk on the way over, but I kept my lips closed tight. When we finally reached the Metals room, he was wearing a slight frown on his face as he opened the door for me. Good.

A few kids were still packing up when we walked in and the smell of sawdust and burnt metal assaulted my nose. I let out a small cough and quickly fanned the area around my face. It didn't help much. Looking into Vicks' office, I saw him bent over some papers on his desk.

"It would have been too perfect if he wasn't here," I muttered bitterly. Alec glanced at me and the corner of his mouth hitched up an inch, but he didn't comment. I didn't know if I wanted him to or not. Though it didn't really matter, I guess.

I cleared my throat and rapped on his doorframe. His beady little eyes looked up and immediately darkened.

"Oh it's you. I half expected you to try to ditch your punishment."

"Really?" I asked, struggling to keep my jaw from cementing shut. Vicks gave a huffing shrug.

"Just seem the type," he replied, giving me a sarcastic smile. That familiar shiver crawled up my spine and a growl very nearly escaped my throat but Alec laid a calming hand on the small of my back and spoke before I could.

"You do know the theory about assuming things that you don't really know, right?" he countered. Vicks started turning that strange purple-red color.

"Watch it, boy," he snarled. Alec smiled, but it was in no way friendly or accepting.

"Now _that's _some good advice," his voice had only the slightest hint of patronization. But it was enough to send Vicks over the edge.

"Get out! Go pick up the garbage! Every little bit! You're not allowed to leave until the campus is spotless, you hear me?!" My entire body stiffened.

"Certainly, sir. Though it is against the law to keep us here for more than a couple hours, and even that is pushing it." Apparently these words weren't as calming as they were supposed to be and Vicks looked ready to spew fire. Grinning broadly, Alec ushered me out of the classroom, grabbing two trash bags on his way.

"See you on Monday, pops," he called just as the door was about a centimeter close to being shut. We heard a thudding noise and quickly sprinted down the breezeway. We didn't stop til we were halfway across the campus, just in case.

"We should probably stop antagonizing him if we ever want to pass his class," I commented as Alec handed me one of the trash bags. He made a phff-ing noise. "I'm serious. I need this credit to graduate."

"Please. There are other ways to get a passing grade. One, you could switch out and get a different teacher," he began counting on his fingers. "Two, you could poison him. Or three," he paused for dramatic effect and pulled a serious face, "You could do the best job you can and ignore the old bastard any time he tries to rile you." I rolled my eyes.

"Please," I mocked. "If I could ignore taunts like that I wouldn't be talking to you right now, would I?" His jaw tightened and he snapped open his trash bag with more force than was probably necessary. I cringed at the loud noise but he didn't look the slightest bit apologetic.

"How 'bout you take that half of campus and I'll take the other?" he suggested in a snippy tone of voice. I gave him a look that was half disbelief and half disgust. "What?"

"You're never gonna explain yourself are you?" His face went blank and I let out a caustic laugh. "Oh right. Anytime I really wanna an answer from you, you just shut off. Do me a favor, if you ever need your hinges oiled at least leave me a note telling me where the can an switch are, alright? Maybe then your robotic tendencies won't seem so alien."

With that, I stomped off in the opposite direction, snatching up every little bit of trash I could find. I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible so I could at least _try_ and have fun at Crash. It was my friggin' eighteenth birthday for God's sake, I deserved a little fun.

I chanced a single glance over my shoulder to see what Alec was doing and was surprised to see that he had disappeared. The guy was quick. A fact that was a little more unnerving than it should be. A spasm of anger shot through me and I lashed out at an empty pop can that had been left only a couple feet from a trash can. To my shock it flew at least eighty feet through the air. I heard the distant thud as it connected with the ground once again. For a few beats all I could do was stare at the spot where it had first been. Then, after throwing a couple cautionary glances around me to see if anyone had seen, I swallowed hard and continued picking up other trash, trying to go even faster than before.

About a half hour later, I had picked my side clean. I chose to give my bag of trash to the security people instead of Vicks in case I felt the urge to dump it all on his bulbous purple head. They accepted it with a curt thank you and commented on how fast me and my partner were.

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling a little foreboding sign sink in my stomach. He couldn't possibly have already...

"Mr. McDowell. He finished about fifteen minutes before you. I've seen plenty of people hurry through detention, but they've never been as thorough as you guys."

My jaw dropped open for a split second before I snapped it shut in indignation. The selfish bastard had already left.

I quickly said goodbye to the security people and headed towards the senior parking lot. I didn't have a car and I had temporarily forgotten that I had a cell phone, so I had impulsively decided to just walk home.

Once the lot was in full view, I very nearly whirled around mid-step to take an alternate route home. There, leaning very smugly against an old, beat up pickup truck with both his arms and legs crossed casually, was Alec. The only thing that stopped me from turning around was sheer stubbornness. I didn't want him to win. How childish is that? Nevertheless, it felt justified. Sort of.

Anyway, I stalked right by him without so much as a haughty glance, though believe me I was tempted. The sound of his quiet laugh stopped me cold. Dammit. Would I ever be able to resist this guy's baiting?

"Should I even ask what seems to be tickling your deceptively evil funny button?" I commented scathingly. He stopped laughing but the smirk didn't leave his face.

"Apparently so," he retorted. I threw him the haughty glare that I had tried so hard to resist, inwardly berating myself, and continued on my way. "Come on Maxie, you live at least a mile away and it's your birthday. You don't really want to waste valuable party time by needlessly walking for a half hour, do you? Why don't you just let me drive you?" He gestured gallantly to the truck. I ignored him. Then he made a strange noise that sounded almost like a cross between a groan of frustration and a pig snorting before he called out, "Fine! If you don't want a ride from me at least use your cell phone to call someone else!"

Without pausing, I rummaged through my bag to get out my cell phone, muttering, "As if you really care..." As soon as my fingers touched my phone, it started vibrating. Any other day I probably would have squeaked in surprise, instead I just snatched it up and flipped it open, barely glancing at the ID on the front screen.

"Hello?"

"Max?" The sound of Logan's voice made me stop walking. "You there?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm here." I needlessly adjusted the strap on my messenger bag, needing something to fidget with. I hadn't heard from Logan since the awkward kiss good night. "What's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. We haven't really spoken since...um, Wednesday. And I wanted to see...how you were?" My eyebrows furrowed as he changed the statement into a question. As if he were unsure why he was even calling.

"I'm good, Logan. Thanks for calling. I'm actually on my way home now to get ready for a birthday party I'm not supposed to know about." I nearly gagged at my pitiful attempt at sounding chipper, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Oh really? Well I guess that makes sense...I mean why would you..." he started muttering and though I understood every word, I pretended not to.

"Sorry, what was that?" I replied, trying to make my tone sound less biting. Why _wouldn't_ I hang out with my friends on my eighteenth birthday? Did he think I was some strange loner or something? Why would I _not _have plans for my birthday? My grip tightened over the phone and I made a huge effort to relax. I was just transferring my feelings of frustration over Alec and all the other crap currently going on towards Logan. It wasn't his fault he barely knew me and was starting to come off as kind of a dunce...A dunce with pretty blue eyes...

When he started talking about us getting together sometime to do something again, I heard footsteps approaching me and knew immediately without turning around who it was.

He moved into my line of sight and quirked an eyebrow at me, looking slightly impatient. A smirk that was probably nearly identical to his usual one slid across my lips. He had overheard who I was talking to.

"That'd be great Logan," I cut into his long sentence about going to some little Italian restaurant downtown tomorrow or Sunday. "But I feel like I want to see you before then too." Alec's eyes narrowed at my words. "Why don't you come to Crash tonight? That's where my party's gonna be. You know where it is right?"

"Uh, yeah. T-that would great...Um, what..."

"Awesome. See you at eight," I interrupted his shocked stammering and flipped my phone closed. A little muscle seemed to be working overtime in the side of Alec's jaw and I gave him a huge, beaming smile. "I'll take that ride now."

"What makes you think that offer is still available? Isn't your boyfriend coming to pick you up?" He sounded like he was talking with a mouthful of rocks he was clenching his teeth so hard. My smile didn't waver.

"Suit yourself." Without another word I pushed past him, bumping his shoulder aside as I went. This time he didn't follow. As soon as I was out of sight, the fake smile dropped from my face. The party was only a couple hours away and yet I was feeling like there wasn't a single thing about my life that was worth celebrating.

That thought alone scared me more than anything that had happened in the past few weeks. A hot feeling began to course through my face, the first warning sign that tears were on the way. I pulled my coat tighter around my body, at the same time doing the same to my emotions. Crying wouldn't change anything, only the approachability of my face. No benefits there.

* * *

"How long did you know about this?"

She took the words right out of my mouth. But instead of saying so to my mother as we were talking about something completely different than what was actually taking precedence in my mind, I continued rifling through my closet for clothes, pasting yet another fake smile to my face. It was getting easier by the minute. A fact that was just the tiniest bit unsettling.

"Sketchy let it slip the other day," I replied, even managing an almost-real-sounding laugh. My mother didn't respond. I picked out one of my favorite tops, a stretchy royal blue tank top that had a few rolls of excess fabric that hung in a V-shape from the shoulder straps down, and a flowing dark red skirt that reached mid-calf. I really needed the distraction of a party tonight, and looking as 'perrty' as I could would be extremely helpful. Especially if Logan was there. Maybe we'd be able to fix that horrible first impression of his lips on mine...

I turned back to face my mom after I'd laid the two articles of clothing on my bed, my artificial smile still intact.

"Don't worry about it Mom," I said. "You still get points for at least attempting to organize a surprise party. Though I'm not sure I even wanna know how you were expecting to get me to Crash without letting me know anything."

My mom grinned. "Well then I shouldn't tell you in case I need to try it again for something else."

My smile very nearly faltered. Though I knew she was only talking about future birthdays, there was doubt that her meaning could be slightly more ambiguous.

"I'll let you get ready. Zack will be here to take you in about a half hour." She reached out for my hand. Without hesitating, I gave it to her. She gave it a light squeeze before turning and leaving my room.

I stared at the door for only a brief moment after she disappeared behind it. For tonight, at least, I refused to dwell on anything that was related to whatever was happening to me. There was always tomorrow to figure out what exactly my mother and whoever else was hiding from me.

"Zack's here!" My mom called up the stairs exactly 30 minutes later. I quickly pulled on a pair of strappy black heels and grabbed my leather jacket and purse before heading downstairs. Zack was standing by the front door in dark blue jeans and a blue T-shirt along with his own leather coat. He looked perfectly acceptable and yet my mom was fixing him with a disapproving glare. Though this was probably due to the fact that in his right hand was a motorcycle helmet.

He hadn't brought a car to take us. He'd brought his motorcycle. For the first time in what seemed like forever, a genuine grin nearly split my face and I impulsively threw my arms around his neck in a hug of gratitude.

"Nice to see you two," he replied, a note of surprise evident in his voice. When I stepped back I saw a strange expression flash across my mother's face, but then it reverted to its original frown of disapproval.

"It's fine, Mom. Zack's an excellent driver," I stated. She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to rethink it. A wary smile appeared on her face and she nodded once.

"I'm allowing it just this once, alright? These are special circumstances and by no means..." she began.

"Great. Thanks Mom. Don't wait up!" I interrupted as I grabbed a fistful of Zack's shirt and pulled him out the door. His Ninja was waiting at the curb. I heard my mom shout one more warning before she closed the door, though I knew she was probably just watching from one of the windows.

"You seem very...exuberant tonight," Zack commented as he handed me a spare helmet. I pulled it on and gave him a warning look.

"Is that not allowed on my eighteenth birthday?" I asked, my voice sounding slightly muffled, but even I could tell there was a trace of annoyance. Making an effort to relax, I swung one leg over the bike and turned to Zack, waiting for him to do the same. He was staring at my legs, not completely covered by my skirt. A strange feeling skittered through my stomach at the look in his eyes. "What?"

His eyes flickered up to mine and he flashed me a wide smile. "You didn't pick the most...efficient clothes for a ride on a motorcycle. If I'd known you were going to wear...that, I would've borrowed a car instead." I smiled at both his comment and the sense of relief that washed over me once that weird look had left his face. Then I wrapped some of the skirt's fabric around my legs, just to be on the safe side.

"Whatever. I'm not changing now. Just get on the bike so we can go, 'kay?" He pulled on his own helmet and straddled the bike in front of me.

"Alright, but if I get any glimpses of a wayward skirt in the corner of my eye I'm pulling over and getting you a pair of pants." I gave his shoulder a punch in response as he started the motorcycle and eased away from the curb.

The ride was just as exhilarating as the first, if not more so considering the release of tension it invoked. I really, really had to get myself one.

Zack parked the motorcycle just a little bit away from the entrance to Crash. I could hear the pulsing noises of the music inside. I suddenly felt giddy with excitement. For at least a couple hours I'd be able to live a cliche, 'forget about my troubles and dance the night away'. It sounded very appealing. I grabbed Zack's sleeve once he was done securing the motorcycle and pulled him towards the building.

"Come on! OC and Sketchy are waiting, right?" He gave me a slightly bemused look but allowed me to drag him inside.

The music was even louder inside than out, understandably. There was a horde of people gyrating to the hip hop mix on the dance floor and I saw another crowd doing the same up the stairs. I glanced wistfully over at the bar, which had a multitude of colored 'poisons' along the back shelf, and the scruffy-looking bartender calmly submitting to everyone's shouted requests for various drinks.

Zack must have seen my look because he said, "Don't even think about it. Wait a couple years before you drown your troubles with a bottle of hooch." I quirked the side of my mouth into a look of indifference.

"Whatever. Sugary soda could get the job done just as well. Where's Sketchy and Cindy?" Zack continued to look at me as if he thought I might suddenly make a mad dash for the alcohol, but when he saw my annoyance rising his eyes flickered up to the second level and nodded towards a couple of people.

"There." The couple in question was a woman with a huge aphro, glittery halter, and skin-tight pants of indeterminate material and a tall, lanky guy dressed in his usual grunge/BMX biker-esque outfit. My two best friends.

Both were dancing enthusiastically, OC more efficiently than Sketchy but with equal effort. I felt an affectionate smile light my face and for some inane reason turned my head to see if Zack was having the same nostalgic reaction. But of course he wasn't since he wasn't having the same 'early life' crisis that I was. He was looking at me again with that weird expression he had worn when I had gotten on his motorcycle.

My stomach began its uncomfortable skittering so I cocked a playful eyebrow at him and asked, "What? Jealous of Sketchy's moves?"

Without waiting for a response, I hurried up the stairs to join my friends. I had to jostle by a few people in order to reach them, but none really seemed to mind getting shoved slightly unceremoniously out of the way as they were too engrossed in the music and moving to the beat. I found myself wanting to feel the same carelessness, though I would prefer not to get pushed aside so nonchalantly and I had a feeling that if someone tried to do the same thing to me I'd be more likely to deck 'em in the face than pretend the extra movement was all part of my genius dance moves.

"Max!" Sketchy and OC shouted exuberantly when they saw me shove my way through the crowd to reach them. I laughed and reached out a hand for him and Original Cindy to grasp and help me get through the last bit of people. It was almost like being in a suction cup and when I was finally pulled clear, I could have sworn there was an audible pop.

"Bit crowded in here isn't it?" A familiar voice yelled in my ear, an action that made my eardrums twitch in annoyance. I could have heard him just as well from at least twenty feet away, but he didn't know that. Nor did he need to, so when I turned to face him and met his lovely blue eyes, though they were a lot harder to see in the dim light, I forced myself to grin and give him a hug in greeting.

"Logan! You made it!" I yelled back, knowing his hearing at least was nowhere near as good as mine and therefore required the extra volume. He seemed slightly startled at the sudden contact, but when his arms wrapped around me it was pretty obvious he had gotten over the shock.

"Hey boo! You want something to drink?" OC shouted next to me. I extracted myself from Logan and turned to give her my full attention, hoping I wouldn't see any of that dreaded concern in her face. Thankfully, she was just looking at me questioningly, waiting for my response.

"No thanks! I'm good for now!"

"You sure?" Zack's voice joined ours, as had his body, which was coincidentally quite close to mine. I turned to give him a look of mock amazement.

"How'd you get through that crowd without help?" He just cocked his head to the side, as if my question had been completely inane. Which it probably was considering how he had a much more formidable presence than me. People probably got out of his way quicker, especially if he was wearing his usual grimacing expression. "Whatever, who wants to dance?"

Sketchy, OC, and Zack hooted their concurrence while Logan bent closer to my ear and I steadied myself from another needless ear-piercing yell. Zack must have noticed my wariness since he suddenly gave me an amused look, though it could have been what Logan was about to say.

"I'm, uh, not that great of a dancer!" he shouted. My brow furrowed. Then why had he agreed to come here? Oh yeah, to spend some quality time with my amazing self. Ha ha.

"What do you mean?" I shouted back, slightly hoping he was joking. I couldn't imagine my date just standing off to the side, acting the part of the wallflower at a dance club where the term was hardly known.

Even in the dim, occasionally flashing strange colorful lights, I could tell Logan's face had flushed a little in embarrassment. "I can't dance!" he explained reluctantly. I glanced over at my friends and made a snap decision without really thinking it over, but knowing I'd regret it.

"You guys go on ahead! I'll meet up with you later! I'm gonna go to the back with Logan!" I shouted, ignoring their incredulous looks while Logan looked decidedly relieved.

"Maxie...!" Zack began, but I was already pushing my way towards the crowd again, holding tightly to Logan's hand so he didn't get lost.

After getting bumped around quite a few times, the pool and air hockey tables appeared in clear view. The second best part of Crash. I turned to smile at Logan.

"How good is your game?" I asked playfully, thankful I could speak at regular volume as the music level was slightly quieter in the back room. He grinned back as he pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose again in such a cute, nerdy gesture I had to hold back a giggle.

"It's alright, how's yours?" he countered. I just shrugged nonchalantly as I surveyed the room a bit more. The crowd in there was sizeably less than on the dance floor and around the bar. Quite a few tables were open so I headed for the closest one, a pool table.

"Get your cue and get ready to get your ass kicked," I joked, pulling one off the rack myself and began chalking it as Logan laughed.

After a while, even with my enhanced abilities I had to admire Logan's game. We had each won a fair number of times, but that number as well as the pounding music in the background just reminded me that I didn't actually wanna be in that room for much longer. But I also knew enough about the male ego to keep that feeling to myself.

We were just about to start yet another one, when I felt a strange tingly sensation on my skin. Actually it wasn't as strange as it used to be. I had long since gotten over that whole feathery feeling whenever he came into close contact with me and now knew exactly when he entered the room. I could feel him casually lope his way over to our table and braced myself, not sure what offense he was going to take.

"Hey Maxie, how's your birthday going so far?" Alec's voice, while expected to me, clearly surprised Logan since he dropped his cue stick on the table when he had been about to shoot. Alec chuckled happily at his reaction to his presence as I felt him stand closer than necessary to me. I shot him a warning look before answering.

"It's just dandy Alec. Though I did feel a slight change in my happiness a second ago," I allowed my voice to hold a tinge of annoyance, but Alec just did his usual smirk thing.

"It rose?" I rolled my eyes and shifted my body a few feet away from him without replying. He glanced back and forth between me and Logan with his lips pursed in a mix of amusement and curiousness and I dreaded the next words out of his mouth. "You know this is a dance club, right?" He was addressing Logan more so than me, something I guess Logan noticed as well since he seemed to stand up straighter as he crossed his arms defensively over his chest.

"Yeah, I know that," he replied in calm voice, his eyes squinting as he tried to figure out why Alec was pointing out such an obvious thing. But I knew what he was doing.

"And it's Maxie's birthday, too," he spoke as if talking to a child as he gestured needlessly towards me, as if Logan may have forgotten who 'Maxie' was. Logan glanced once at me before nodding again and confirming he knew that as well. Smart boy. "Well, considering both of those facts, I'm slightly curious why she isn't out there dancing the night away with her friends like the typical eighteen year old girl who chose to host her party at a _dance club_." He emphasized the last two words with a quirky little dance move of his own, bobbing his head and moving his shoulders and hands to the beat that I felt was continuously calling for my body to join with the others on the dance floor. But how did Alec know that? I slid him a surreptitious glance before turning my attention to Logan, wondering how he was going to justify his ruining my much needed carefree birthday.

Oops. I didn't mean that...

"She didn't feel like dancing," was Logan's response after he slid his jaw left to right in contemplation.

Okay maybe I did mean it.

My grasp tightened on my cue stick and miraculously Alec's eyes darted to my hand and quickly stepped forward to take it from me. He knew how close I was to snapping it. My face scrunched in confusion at his sudden intuition.

Logan watched the interaction with narrowed eyes, which widened slightly in surprise when they met mine, which I didn't realize until it was too late were kinda burning with anger...

"You sure about that, Log-boy?" Alec asked, playfully rotating the cue stick with his fingers in one hand without taking his eyes off of me. I wasn't about to let him see how badly I wanted to leave this smelly, cigarette-filled room for the crowded dance floor at the front of the club.

"Well...um, actually, I..." Logan faltered for words as he scratched the side of his neck with one hand, the other hanging limply at his side. My desire to leave suddenly became too overwhelming, it seeped into every part of my body. I was itching to move my body in time to the thumping music.

"He can't dance so I decided to keep him company," I said, my words rushing out before I could stop them. I chanced only one glance at Logan to see his reaction, which was clearly shocked embarrassment, before keeping my gaze firmly on the pool table in front of me. Only the soft laughter of Alec's perpetual amusement caused to me to look up at him in annoyance.

"Guess it's settled then," he stated happily, firmly putting the cue stick back on the rack and taking me by the elbow towards the beckoning music... "Let's go dancing."

As if he knew how hesitant I would be, no matter how eagerly I awaited being on that floor, to leave Logan he didn't run me out of the room like I half-expected him too. But when I didn't hear so much as a peep of protest from Logan, I felt my jaw lock in annoyance and picked up the pace.

After shoving my way through the first group of people to reach a small clearing, I let out a laugh of contentment, allowing the pulsating music to wash over me as I steadily began swaying my hips, shoulders, every part of my body to the rhythm it set. Even the undoubtable presence of Alec dancing next to me was lost to the background. I didn't care how close he was to me, how frighteningly intuitive of me he suddenly seemed to be. He had gotten me out of a quickly deteriorating environment to one that I had begun to crave with alarming intensity. I didn't mind when I felt his arms slide around my waist, his legs brushing against mine. It felt right. Without hesitating, I wrapped my own arms around his neck and shook my hair out behind my back, marveling in how _free_ I was able to finally feel.

As the beat suddenly sped up, I broke free of Alec, spinning away as much as was possible in such a tight space, laughing. My hands held high above my head, I found myself dancing within a group of strangers, but I didn't care and neither did they. I bounced back and forth between various guys, never staying with one for more than a couple beats, probably enjoying it more than I should have.

I took only a short break in which Alec had brought me something to drink, but I couldn't keep my body still for much longer and soon continued my previous routine of dancing with as much people as possible, or just by myself.

When the next song began to play, I found myself in front of Alec again. His skin was glistening just slightly with a light sheen of sweat and I knew my skin probably looked the same, if not more so. He was watching me with a mix of frustration, annoyance, admiration, and dare I say...desire, on his face.

I grinned mischievously as I grabbed a fistful of his shirt to bring him closer and turned my back to him, then I slowly guided his hands to my waist again and leaned into his chest. That feeling of contentment and familiarity washed over me again and I let out a small sigh. I felt a laugh rumble in Alec's chest as I slowly ran my fingers along his arm, mesmerized with the soft skin but knowing that beneath it lay muscles of incredible strength.

My lips formed a smirk at his laugh. "What?" Somehow I knew he'd be able to hear me without my needing to shout.

"It's been so long since I've been able to hold you like this..." he said, almost to himself more so than me. The first bells of alarm began to clink in my brain. Something was off about that statement.

"What? But we've never...When have we..." I couldn't finish a sentence. A fog was closing over my senses. I felt him bend his head a little forward so his lips rested against my ear. A shiver of apprehension tickled my spine.

"Don't you remember yet?"

My whole body stiffened as I suddenly gripped his arm, digging my nails deep into his skin as the blanket was suddenly torn off my mind. Vision after vision assaulted my eyes. It was my dreams all over again. Everything was in black and white. Only the consistent pace was hyper-speed. Kids my age dressed in army fatigues, crawling, jumping, running through the forests. Combat training. Injections. A projector with the words DISCIPLINE, DUTY, and TEAMWORK flashing across the wall. Shooting range. Being on the operating table with the knife coming closer...closer...

As I stifled a scream, the next vision was the first one I had remembered seeing...That day when I was walking home with OC and Sketchy. Only instead of seeing my younger self from the point of view of crumpled leaves, I knew those dead eyes belonged to me and I was seeing through them myself. With a snap the entire world was brought back into color and the sound rushed unmercifully into my ears. Birds. Sirens. Shouts. Gunshots. But somehow I knew that nothing was out of the ordinary. It was all just part of life at...the name of the facility still alluded me. But then I heard a voice calling my name and even my younger self knew who that voice belonged to.

Through this child's eyes, my eyes, I saw a very familiar figure. Though he was slightly shorter, obviously younger, less muscled, I knew he could still be dangerous. Those green eyes were unmistakable. But instead of feeling fear or even annoyance, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of...happiness. Joy.

"Alec!"

As my younger self ran enthusiastically towards the young smirking boy, waiting with his open arms to envelope me, I was transported back to the present as the image dissolved and I found myself staring into those very same green eyes, aged almost beyond recognition with experiences that I was beginning to realize I had extensive knowledge about. My eyes probably looked the same. We had lived through the same things. We had grown up together. We had been closer than family. Our relationship had been decidedly very _un_-family-like.

Slowly, I reached up to touch his face, smooth his slightly worried brow, trace his jaw, curl my fingers around his ears, run my fingers gently through his hair. His eyes had flickered closed as soon as my fingers had brushed against his skin, but blinked open when I breathed his name in amazement. Then without further hesitance, I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tip toes to press my lips against his.

His reaction was almost instantaneous. His grip around my waist tightened as we somehow managed to lean against a wall. He must have moved through the crowd when I was remembering...

His hands left my waist to move up into my hair, twisting and then pulling free only to repeat the same process. He mumbled my name a few times as his lips explored the rest of my face, planting delicate kisses on my eyelids, nose, cheek, jaw bone, neck...He was also saying some other phrases I couldn't quite make out. It sounded almost like gibberish, but then I realized he was speaking different languages. I almost laughed when I realized in the next second that I could understand them as well, but then his mouth found mine again and all was forgotten.

Why hadn't we done this before? Why hadn't he told me all this when I first saw him on the bus? Why hadn't I remembered? Why was I just remembering now that we had known each other ever since we were little kids? Basically growing up at...

I felt an electric shock course through my body and my eyes snapped open and I shoved Alec against the wall in surprise, barely noticing the startled noise he made. My chest felt like it was on fire and my brain suddenly became muddled, my stomach rebelling as nausea overwhelmed me. I barely heard Alec asking me if I was alright. I knew I wasn't. But this wasn't some strange sickness. It wasn't as if I was about to get a flashback of a distant memory that for some reason had been shoved to the farthest recesses of my brain. I knew what this feeling was.

Fear.

I was completely petrified. And as I looked up into Alec's concerned face, his mouth bruised from my lips on his, his cheeks flushed, eyes shadowed but with a strange glint still visible, I knew he understood why.

"Manticore," I breathed, alarmed at how terrorized my voice sounded. "It was Manticore."

**A/N-Um yeah...it's been a while again. Sorry...Hopefully this extra long chapter helped make up for it a little ;o) And I'm entering the last week of school so hopefully more will be able to come soon! Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Alec didn't say anything. But he didn't have to. I knew he understood what was happening to me. More memories flooded my brain, almost jubilant to finally be released from whatever cage had restrained them from reminding me of the horrific life I had apparently been leading without realizing it.

Underwater in a huge tank with my ankle chained to the floor, holding my breath for so long I felt like my chest was going to burst open. But showing weakness was unacceptable, and looking at the other kids lined up in a row next to me showed the same conflict was going through their bodies as well. But none moved so neither did I.

Running through the woods with such adrenalin, I barely noticed whenever my feet touched the ground. My surroundings were a blur, every detail insignificant. Only one thought was comprehended by my mind. One thought that sent blood chilling shivers of pleasurable apprehension through my whole body.

_Get the prisoner_.

Another gasp of shock and I was back in the present. Alec's expression had gone from wary to alarmed. One of his hands was gripping my arm and the other was at the base of my neck. His eyes were trying to meet mine, but I couldn't look at him. I felt my entire body shaking as that one thought kept reverberating in my head over and over again.

_Get the prisoner. Get the prisoner._

A vision of a knife dripping dark red liquid. A mangled body. Blood spattered fatigues.

"Max!"

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, lashing out and stumbling back. I felt my fist land on something hard with a resounding thwack. My eyes then focused on Alec leaning against the wall with one hand gingerly touching the right side of his face, his mouth slightly open. An expression of such intense pain crossed his face, I felt my heart twist. But then it was gone and he was back to watching me without much emotion.

A beat passed where all I heard and felt was the music thumping along, spreading the message of something along the lines of how a man was admiring the ass of a woman in a club. It was nothing if not a sobering thought.

This club was so not the place to be having this happen to me.

I met Alec's gaze one more time, silently asking him if he wanted to follow me, but his emerald eyes were stone and nothing else. I gave a single nod and began slipping through the crowd. I was just at the door, my coat in my hand, when I felt a hand on my arm.

A sensation of familiarity flushed over me and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shut out the flood of even more memories that I knew would be coming. But they hit me nonetheless. This time I tried to watch them with detached emotions, even if they were my own, I didn't want anything to do with them. But the intense feelings overwhelmed my resolve as soon as I saw who was included in the memories.

A boy a few years older than me with short blonde hair. A face that was almost perpetually serious, calculating and cautious. But a rare smile that would knock you off your feet. Blue eyes that looked like they could pierce you with their iciness, drown you in their ocean, or simply offer the best comfort that's available to them.

He helped me up from the mud with a sturdy hand that completely enveloped mine. He let me lean on him after a long night in the forest. He held my hand on my way to the infirmary and didn't even make a single annoyed peep when I squeezed his hand so hard I was sure it would almost break. But when I looked up at him, all I saw was him bestowing me with one of his rare smiles.

This time when the assault stopped, I let my eyes flicker open. Instead of fear, I felt reassured. He always did have that effect on me.

"Zack."

He was looking at me with the same alarm and concern that Alec had worn on his face. At least before I punched him in the face.

"I've known you for a while too." I didn't expect him to know what I was talking about and he obviously didn't as he cocked his head to the side, eyebrows slightly raised. I kept my voice calm as I tried to work through my blender of emotions. "You've always been like a brother to me. But this..." Something flickered across his face and he blinked a few times, but otherwise he gave away nothing. He was still regarding me as if I were reciting a grocery list when he had already gone to the store. Blatant confusion. I felt my jaw start to clench and struggled to regain control. "Everyone's been keeping this from me. For a long time I guess. And why...I don't know yet. I'm not...I'm not who I thought I was."

The alarm returned to Zack's face with a vengeance and his eyes left mine, suddenly searching frantically for something in the crowd. "Maxie. How did you...I mean, who told you?" I waited until his eyes focused back on mine. I guess my expression must've been pretty scary because his eyebrows furrowed and his voice got a little higher. "Maxie?"

"You should talk to Alec. I'm leaving." A split second was all it took for his entire face to darken and body to go rigid. But then his hand was grasping my arm before I could leave.

"What the hell did he do to you?" His grip hurt. It pissed me off. I felt a malicious grin cross my face, but I didn't say anything, letting him think what he wanted. His jaw went a little slack as his blue eyes widened and turned into icicles. "I knew it would be too soon. We were supposed to wait..."

Before he could finish, I felt something in me snap. And once again I was hitting someone I would had trusted with my life not less than five minutes ago. He stumbled back with the same expression Alec had worn. Deja freakin' vu.

"Wait for what? Wait til I went insane with this new cocktail of abilities? _God_..." I snarled, unable to unclench my fists and resisted the urge to beat the answer out of him. "I still don't know what's going on. But I _will_ figure it out. But I'll be doing it _alone_. Whatever you two were to me..." I waited for his face to show he understood what I was saying, but his forehead never smoothed. I gave my head a slight shake, reigning in my emotions again. Too many people were watching and a big, burly security guard-type was on his way over. "I do know that _this_ is in no way normal and somehow you had a part in it." I pointed to my head as I slowly backed away towards the door before the rent-a-cop reached us. "I definitely won't _forget_ something like that." I watched with some bit of satisfaction as Zack visibly flinched at the emphasis I put on that word before pushing the door open with more force than was necessary and sprinted out.

I managed to get a couple blocks down before I heard someone calling my name, accompanied by the beat up growling noise that piece of crap cars tend to make when they're in motion. I recognized the voice it belonged to and immediately slowed to a stop. I turned to face Original Cindy and Sketchy as they pulled up beside me in OC's crumpled car, not bothering to force a smile on my face. It would only seem like I was baring my teeth, not a welcome sight.

They watched me for a beat, trying to gauge my mood before Sketchy reached behind his seat to unlock the back door and push it open.

"Come on, you're gonna freeze your butt off if you walk all the way home." I cocked an eyebrow as I slid into the offered seat. Both of them turned to look at me. "That is, if you actually want to go home at the moment." I bit my lip and stared out the window, pondering over the possible options I had. Going home seemed like the least beneficial and appealing so I shook my head.

Without meeting OC's gaze, I asked, "Would it be alright if I stayed with you for a couple days?" A heavy silence hung in the air as I berated myself for allowing my voice to sound as meek as it did. I knew Original Cindy and Sketchy were exchanging looks, but neither said anything for a while.

Finally Original Cindy turned back around in her seat and pulled away from the curb. "Sure thing, boo. You can stay as long as you need to." But there was a note of defeat in her voice, like she knew that there was a very low chance of me actually explaining to her what exactly was wrong with me.

I didn't do anything to change her mind. Instead I stayed silent through the whole car ride, wrapping my arms around my middle and staring out the window, my eyes taking in more than was humanly possible. A fact that I noted with a small pang of sadness that I would have to deal with for a much longer time.

* * *

I didn't sleep for four days. If this had happened a couple weeks ago I'd have gone to the doctor on the second day in a state of panic, wanting some sort of explanation and efficient solution to my insomnia. As it was, I knew exactly how I was able to go so long without sleep. And the reality of it turned my stomach.

I had shark DNA.

How creepy is that? As soon as the knowledge made itself known to me, I ran to the bathroom to check for fins and gills. So far my skin is still as smooth as ever and without abnormal ridges, but I still check every so often.

I haven't talked to Alec or Zack since my birthday party. That doesn't mean the avoid-yness was mutual, the exact opposite was true actually. Original Cindy complained daily of her message machine filling up with all the calls from them and the knocks at the door at the least predictable moments. Her parents weren't too happy about it either. They tried to get me to talk to them on multiple occasions, but I refused. Talking to them would only bring back more unwanted memories. And the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to see what my life was like before something basically wiped out all the ones that involved Manticore.

Ugh. That name still made me cringe and look over my shoulder every time I thought of it. There must've been a reason for them taking away my memories and despite the bravado I had shown when I had talked to Alec and Zack before and how gung ho I had been about seeking out the truth...I had no idea how I would go about it and my imagination ran wild with the consequences. The rational part of me knew that at _some _point I would have to ask Alec and Zack about their part in this, but until that moment became undeniably crucial I was steadfastly keeping my distance.

There was one other person that I knew of to talk to. But she was also on my list of distrustful traitors. I knew that she must've had some sort of involvement as well. But I didn't know what yet, obviously. I couldn't imagine spending so much time at a government facility without my mother knowing. Original Cindy made me call my mom as soon as we got back to her house and made up some excuse to her parents as to why I would be staying for a while. We chalked it up to simply wanting to capture the kiddie times of the past when we would spend multiple nights at each other's houses.

The conversation was pretty short. I knew I caught her off guard when my first words were "What do you know about Manticore?" and she made a strange gurgling sob noise as if she were being strangled. My impatience and pissed off nature blazed up a notch when she then preceded to pretend not to know what I was talking about.

"Mom. Cut the bullshit," I hissed, not caring that this was probably the first time I had ever sworn at my mother. "You know something about what's happening to me. I know you do. Now I want to know the exact extent of your knowledge and exactly what the _fuck_ was going through your head when you decided to send me off to the Boarding School of Hell?" I heard her draw in a shaky breath and when she spoke her voice sounded thick. She was crying.

Shit.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to steel myself against her response. "Please Max. I didn't have a choice," she sobbed. "You have to believe me! I never wanted you to go into that...that place! Not after what I'd seen them do to those other kids. But they threatened me! There wasn't...." She broke off and I felt my resolve weakening. But I had to know something.

"Why did they take my memories?" I asked softly. "And how many of what isn't related to...Manticore is really true?" I was met with silence. "Mom?"

"Sweetie, I can't...I mean...I don't..." When she broke off again I felt like something horrible was crawling through my body. Something had just occurred to me. All the memories that had been suppressed ended about four months ago. The end of my junior year.

"Mom...how did we afford our new house?" My voice was still calm, but I could tell she detected a note of something a bit more vicious in my tone. She was silent for a couple beats and the icky feeling intensified. "We never went to California, did we?"

I wanted her to deny it so badly. I wanted her to say that she would never sell me to a place like Manticore just to get a nice house and cushion her life with money at the expense of my clueless misery. But all that hope was shattered with a single word.

"N-No..."

I hung up and haven't spoken to her since. I've faked it though, just to get OC's parents to think everything was alright.

I hadn't planned on sharing my freakshow of a life with Cindy, but I hadn't taken her sneakiness and unabashed penchant for eavesdropping into account. She'd heard my conversation with my mom. She didn't push me into turning my stay at her house into a episode of Dr. Phil, but instead she comforted me in the one way she knew I needed. She simply declared that any memory she had of me was without a doubt real, because we had the pictures, videos, letters, and _her _memories of our relationship as well as mine. When I posed the question of the possibility of Manticore messing with her mind as well as anyone who claims to know me, she laughed it off, claiming that stuff only happened in movies like _The Matrix _or _The Truman Show_. As entertaining at those movies are, the thought of it actually interfering with my life wasn't quite believable. Though my doubts weren't completely nullified, they were calmed at least. The idea of Manticore messing with the entire world just to keep me from remembering them, for whatever reason, was too preposterous to continue.

School was the last thing on my itinerary. Going back to such a 'normal' place just never crossed my mind. But when OC's parents found out we hadn't gone to school after it resumed on Tuesday (Monday was a non-student teacher work day), they basically manhandled us into their car on Wednesday morning and dropped us off with stern words that if they received another phone call from the principal there would be hell to pay.

Surprisingly, I was the recipient of very few gossipy stares and whispers. Guess my little freak out at the front of the school last week, my punching of Jared Diffon, and my tiff with Mr. Non-Santa Claus weren't such hot topics anymore. It almost made me want to smile for the first time in days. Almost.

But of course when it came time for first period and I knew who would be in that class, all shaky happiness returned to its usual foreboding. OC did her best to placate me.

"Don't fret none, Max. I got your back. He come anywhere near you I'll hit him with the racket okay? See if he can harass you with a concussion," She sniffed derisively, choosing to believe that she could actually give such a thing to a genetically engineered male. I decided not to correct her. I wasn't quite sure what I would do if he got too close to me. As soon as we stepped out of the locker room and I saw him on the tennis court, I felt conflicted between either boxing or kissing his ears. Both were frustratingly appealing.

He was leaning against the fence, absentmindedly twirling his tennis racket in his hand and every once in a while he would respond to something that Darren said. He was the picture of nonchalance and a small part of me ached, feeling the desire to have that same carefree attitude when my world had just been turned upside down. The much bigger part of me felt like ripping that racket out of his hands and hitting him over the head with it for everything he'd put me through.

After feeling that I had fulfilled my quota for angry staring, I quickly picked up my own racket and passed one to Original Cindy out of the box. I felt more secure as soon as I felt the weight of it in my hand. Don't ask me why. It was just a hunk of metal and wire to me, but somehow having the tiniest barrier between me and Alec gave me comfort. Especially when our teacher instructed us to choose courts and partners and just start playing tennis and Alec started to make his way over to me. Cindy was busy trying to push her way through the crowd to get a tennis ball that wasn't torn up.

My grip on my racket tightened before I forced myself to relax and I plopped the racket on my shoulder as if I were a hitchhiker, fixing Alec with a haughty expression. He smiled a little, just a twitch of the lips, as he stood in front of me.

"Wanna be my partner?" his voice held a note of playfulness that I didn't feel should be there considering what our last conversation had been like. And a weird sensation told me that his words probably had more than one possible meaning. I cocked an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. His self-assured expression faltered and he leaned in closer. "I need to talk to you, Max. It's important." The wariness and worry in his voice was easy to detect and it unnerved me a little. But not enough to start swapping stories in the middle of a high school tennis court complete with gossipy teenagers.

I opened my mouth to respond when a racket suddenly thwacked Alec on the head. It was connected to Original Cindy's hand. The other one quickly grabbed my own free hand as she pulled me away.

"Sorry, bugger slipped out of my hands," she stated breezily as Alec rubbed the top of his head with an annoyed look on his face. I half expected him to follow but he didn't. A quick glance over my shoulder told me he was watching our retreat with a stony expression. Back to being unreadable. Lovely.

Cindy and I ended up playing Wilson Trichter and Sam Lineth, two boys with extreme competitive streaks. I'm not quite sure how they ended up on the same court as us. They must've been looking for an easy game to boost their egos. It actually turned out pretty good for me since I was looking for a way to unleash some frustration. It was just the tiniest bit distracting that Alec was on the next court over.

"You sure you don't want to just declare us the winners and get it over with?" Wilson called over the net with a cheeky smirk. Cindy just looked at him, completely deadpan.

"Well I did just get a manicure."

I went for a different approach and served the ball without waiting to see if they were ready. Watching Sam's smile get replaced with a look of terror as he haphazardly flung his racket at the oncoming ball in panic gave me a great sense of satisfaction.

"What the hell Max!" he yelled after I lobbied it back with more force than was necessary. It whipped past Wilson's ear, missing it by only a couple inches. Original Cindy was too busy laughing to hit the ball once Sam managed to hit it back, also barely missing Wilson's head.

I cocked my head to the side and fixed him with a look of pure innocence and confusion. "I thought we were trying to just get it over with?"

"Crazy bitch," I heard Wilson mutter under his breath, but I knew no one else would have heard it so I resisted the urge to perfect my aim. My grip tightened on my racket and I swear I heard something creak. I glanced down at my racket and was only slightly alarmed to see the tiniest dent in the metal. Oops. Guess I needed to work on containing my knee-jerk reactions. A loud crack and a howl of pain interrupted this 'zen' thought and made my head snap up in surprise.

Wilson was on the ground, shrieking that his arm was broken. Everyone was gathered around him as the teacher quickly sprinted over. Alec was holding his racket aloft with a sheepish look on his face.

"I'm not sure how it happened. I think I swung too wide or something," his voice had just the right amount of worry, confusion, and apology. "Becca hit the ball pretty far and I just went after it without thinking...I'm really sorry, man." I could only watch in dumb shock as Mr. Garrison spared him a quick look and word of admonishment about being more careful and gently helped Wilson to his feet. He cradled his arm against his chest as Mr. Garrison instructed Sam to go with him to the nurse's office. The crowd quickly dispersed. I saw Alec give me the quickest of glances before he went back to his own court. OC didn't miss the look either.

"Boo...you don't think..." I couldn't answer. I had forgotten Alec's ears were as good as mine and since he was only a court away he probably heard Wilson's comment too. Did he really injure Wilson on purpose?

* * *

The rest of PE went by without a hitch and not a single exchange with Alec. Cindy left me for her third period after a quick hug and advice not to aggravate Vicks again or to talk to Alec, despite the fact that he was in the seat right across from me. Metals was next.

I walked into the classroom with the air of someone indifferent to their surroundings and you know what? I was. The fact that this class was always quiet for fear of Vicks unhinging his jaw and swallowing all those that dared to offend him only reminded me I had been in much worse positions with much scarier authority figures.

The fact that I hadn't had much time to really ponder over these encounters didn't seem that significant.

I wasn't that surprised with Vicks used the first chance he could to try to rile me enough so he could just kick me out again.

"Well Miss Guevara, I didn't expect you to come in today," his rumbling voice sneered. I looked up at him blankly, waiting to see if he would say anything else as I sorted through a box of metal scraps. Was that the only provocation he knew? The furry white caterpillars on his forehead that were impersonating eyebrows drew together. "What, no snappy retort? Or did picking up after your own age group's filth finally teach you a lesson?" He chuckled as if he had made a joke. I played the confused innocent again as I picked a few random pieces from the box.

"And what lesson would that be?" I asked. A beat of silence passed and I didn't have to look around the room to know that most people were watching our exchange. Only those that were operating heavy machinery remained focused on their work, for fear of chopping off valuable appendages if their attention drifted elsewhere. Vicks face was turning into a eggplant again and I didn't even bother to hide my mocking smile. "Was it supposed to be something like respecting your elders?" I put a finger to my lips as if I were giving it heavy thought. My smile grew wider before I let it drop, not wanting to give the guy a coronary. "Don't worry, _sir_. I've got that in spades." To prove it, I gave a salute and walked off to a machine to chop off unwanted parts of the metal.

People still didn't immerse themselves in their work completely so I knew Vicks was following me. Just after I flipped the switch to the machine I was at and I was about to get to work, I felt Vicks bump into me. Thanks to my miraculous reflexes I was able to let go of the metal before the blade cut my fingers off.

"Hold the piece steadier," Vicks growled on his way to his office. "Wouldn't want to lose any of those pretty fingers, would you?" He kept his eyes on me for a few beats as he walked away, letting me know unabashedly that he had done that on purpose. I met his gaze with a truculent one of my own, letting all my disdain for him and all the knowledge that I could snap him like a twig show on my face. I saw a flicker of consternation on his face before his pace picked up and he quickly went into his office, moving the door so it was nearly shut save for a small crack.

I allowed myself a small smile before I got back to work, and so did the other people in the class. I felt a certain someone's eyes on me the entire time, but I did nothing to show I was aware of it.

* * *

Chemistry wasn't that preoccupied with conflict. At least not at first. Ms. Seri was busy educating us on intermolecular forces and seemed to be so thrilled at describing the difference between Hydrogen Bonding and London Dispersion as if she was certain this knowledge would help us solve world hunger. She didn't take kindly to my asking to go the bathroom, but let me go with a warning when I insisted it couldn't wait. I resisted the urge to pretend to pass her message on to my bladder.

I ignored the little snickers of immaturity that circled the room as if the idea of a person having to go pee was a such a newfangled concept and one that none of them had done at least once that day. People in my generation were idiots.

Feeling the need to stretch my legs after sitting for so long, I chose to go to a farther bathroom than the one in the 500s building. I didn't actually have to go but since I was already free of the freezing lab I figured I might as well follow through.

I should've stayed in the classroom.

The doors swung shut behind me with a loud creak and I was doing the every girl ritual of checking my hair in the dingy, lipstick smudged mirror, ignoring that weird unidentifiable smell that all the bathrooms seemed to have and wondered fleetingly why bathrooms were always _wet_ when the principal's voice boomed over the intercom.

"Um...We seem to be having some security issues or some-er, I mean this is going to be a lockdown drill kids," he was saying. My eyebrows climbed to my hairline in surprise. I'm not a expert or anything but aren't school authority figures supposed to be more eloquent than that? "So staff please lock all your doors, pull down the blinds, etc. You know the drill, heh..." Was that a _nervous chuckle_?

It dawned on me a second later that I would be locked out of my classroom if I didn't hurry back. I turned back to the doors and pushed them open, hurrying down the hall and out of the building as quickly as possible. I decided to take the quicker route back and left the undercover one for the one along the track and field. But I stopped dead as I saw some people dressed all in black across the campus. They were coming from the office and as my eyes did that zoom thing, I realized with a jolt that they dressed in military tactical getups.

"Holy shit," I breathed, feeling every liquid, tissue, and organ in my body immediately seize. Instinct was telling me to _Run! Run before those bastards catch you!_ But I felt like my brain had gone on vacation from my muscles. They just weren't responding.

Then I heard one of the men shout and saw them point in my direction before picking up their pace to a full out run. Of course _their_ bodies' listened to directions!

My fear finally decided to work hand in hand with the rest of my emotions and I ran in the opposite direction, ducking back under the breezeway. I nearly screamed when I saw more coming from the opposite side of the school. I pulled desperately on the door to the nearest building but one of the staff members had already locked it. My desperation kicked up a notch as I let out a frightened wimp.

I was way out of practice when it came to running from these guys. A quick glance over my shoulder told me they were closing in and would reach me in no more than a couple minutes if I didn't find a damn open door. No doubt they had already surrounded the entire school already. Complete escape was out of the question. Hiding was second best. Too bad I wasn't wearing the right clothes for camouflage in trees...

I sprinted across the senior steps and found myself back at the 500s building. I yanked on the door that led to the hallway where my chemistry class and a couple other lab rooms were connected. No luck.

Screw it.

The door had a window that was about three feet by four feet in the frame. I quickly yanked off my sweatshirt and wrapped it around my fist, using my other arm to shield my face, I swung at the window portion of the door as hard as I could and was rewarded with a glass shower. I hit the excess glass that still remained in the frame, took a few steps back, and dove through. I did a couple rolls and ended up on one knee. I had just enough time to randomly picture myself as Rocky the flying squirrel and note that I had a few slivers of blood on my arms and face when the sound of glass being shattered at the opposite end of the hallway snapped me back into action.

I jumped up and threw myself against the closest door to my left, which I knew to be the stock room, just as they shot strange electric wire things at me from both sides of the hallway. I felt the burning heat as they whizzed by mere inches from my body and met with crackling ferocity in the middle of the hallway.

Tasers.

The stock room was locked as well but the handle was much easier to manipulate as I pushed down with enough force to cause parts of the wood to splinter off as it was wrenched away from the frame. I slammed the door shut behind me just as more tasers were sent in my direction. The lock useless now, I quickly took stock of what was in the vicinity.

A bunch of hazardous chemicals. Lovely. My face broke into a grim smile as I moved to the shelf right by the door, tore my sweatshirt off of my right hand and hooked my fingers behind the back. Loaded down with bottles of all shapes and sizes, it was harder to move than I thought. I grit my teeth and let out a primal shout as the shelf finally gave way just as the door to the hallway burst open.

I jumped backwards as soon as the shelf made it's descent as all the bottles shattered over the bodies of the soldiers. I frantically tried to shut my ears off as their screams of agony pierced my conscious. Some of the chemicals had apparently splashed on me despite my genius last-minute move.

Not.

I quickly shed my shoes and threw them like footballs at the men as some of those less harmed by the chemicals attempted to shoot tasers at me. Both landed with resounding crunches that informed me I had broken a couple noses. I felt a light tickling sensation on my stomach as I broke the handle of the door that led to one of the science rooms. I looked down to see more of the chemicals had gotten on my shirt. It would burn me if I didn't get of it, but I had no time to mess with water and bases, having smashed most of them anyway so I quickly whipped off my shirt too as I ran into the lab, which I was shocked to see was my very own chemistry lab.

I was so distracted with the Manticore ambush that I hadn't heard all the chairs and tables scraping around as the other kids in my class tried to barricade the doors. They all stopped and stared at me, clad only in a black sports bra-luckily not a feminine lacy thing or I'd have been more embarrassed- dark blue jeans and mismatched socks-_that _was a tad embarrassing, despite the screams of the soldiers in the stock room continuing on. Banging on the door to the hallway snapped them back into a frenzy.

"What the f-"

"Are you okay?"

"Language Jared!"

"Max! What the hell?"

Sketchy and Alec immediately rushed me and dragged me away from the door to the center of the room.

"Max, what's going on?" Sketchy was picking glass out of my hair and alternating his gaze from my face to my chest with alarming speed. I would have laughed if the situation hadn't already scared away all my humor.

I locked eyes with Alec, who was clenching his jaw so hard his cheekbones stood out like knives. "They're here," I said, berating myself for how shaky my voice sounded. Alec only blinked. "Help me, please. I don't know what they want...I just..." He still wasn't moving so I shoved my vulnerability to the side. I didn't have time to beg. "Fine. Move out of my way."

Without waiting for him to do so, I pushed past him and Sketchy, mumbling an apology to Sketch as I frantically looked around the room. Everyone was busy blocking the doors and shouting in panic every time it jumped with the force of the soldiers' efforts to break it down. I saw Ms. Seri screaming into her phone that they needed help, no doubt trying to reach the office. But how else had Manticore been allowed in?

Feeling like a trapped animal, I looked up at the ceiling as I drew a shaky breath. That's when I noticed the sky windows and I pursed my lips in determination. I glanced over at Sketchy and Alec, who were both still watching me, one in bewildered concern and the other in stone cold silence. I ignored the latter and looked to Sketchy, gesturing towards the chemistry books in the shelf behind him.

"Bring me a couple of those, would you?" I said as I effortlessly picked up one of the tables and stacked it on top of another.

"Holy crap, Max...How did you-" Sketchy began as I quickly shoved another table closer to the two stacked together, realizing it'd be impossible to stack a third one on, given my stunted height.

"The books, Sketch!" I snapped as I climbed onto the table next to the ones I'd stacked.

"Right."

"Are you gonna tell me why you're not helping?" I muttered to Alec as I jumped onto the stacked tables. I let out a squeak of alarm when the top table lurched to the side, but I didn't fall. The reason being the steady hand holding the table in place, which I saw belonged to Alec. I met his green eyes but didn't say anything.

"I'm helping," he said softly. "The only way I can." I didn't quite know what to say to that, but Sketchy saved me from having to answer as he tossed up a couple of thick chemistry books. I hefted them up, testing their weight and liked what I felt.

"This'll do," I declared before heaving them up with all my strength to the overhead windows and shouting simultaneously for anyone within range to cover their faces, demonstrating with my own arms. The resulting crash was even louder than the noise I had made with the door window.

"Jesus Christ, Max!" That sentiment was repeated by more than just one person as I looked down at Alec, though I was pretty sure he had been one of those to voice it.

"Coming?" I asked. He barely hesitated as he quickly jumped up next to me. The table made a strange groaning noise but otherwise didn't lurch like it had when I jumped on it. Chalking it up to my panic and lack of practice, I just gave him a look. "I'll talk to you later, okay Sketchy?"

He could only nod with that same bewildered expression on his face. I would have to explain the situation more thoroughly to him, as well as Original Cindy, when we had more time.

But first things first, I needed to get the hell out of here.

**A/N-Yeah so it's definitely been awhile and for that I do full heartedly apologize. Especially since I had this chapter sitting unposted for a quite a few months. And I bring further bad news that I don't know even when the next posting will be since I haven't written out my ideas in narrative format yet plus I'll be going to college in the fall and working full time over the summer in order to pay for said college...But hey, I'll do my best :o) Thanks very much for your patience and I hope you at least check in every once in a while to see if I've made more progress...**


End file.
